


The Thief of Core City

by CucuboJo



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Abu the clockwork monkey, Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Aladdin (2019) Fusion, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Creepy Murdoch, Jack Dalton is Aladdin, King James MacGyver, M/M, Murdoc is Jafar, Murdoch is his own warning, Prince Angus MacGyver, Stalking, The Great Genie Matty, little sister Riley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 45,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22262056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CucuboJo/pseuds/CucuboJo
Summary: Jack Dalton is a orphan and a thief. He lives off the pockets of the rich in the steam powered core city where magic and mechanics have been combined to make the nation flourish. He never would have guessed that a chance encounter with a beautiful shrouded figure would change his life forever.
Relationships: Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016) & Riley Davis, Jack Dalton/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Wilt Bozer & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Wilt Bozer/Riley Davis (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 76
Kudos: 68





	1. A chance encounter

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfiction I have ever posted, so I hope you all like it. I cant tell you where this idea come from but I recently saw the new Aladdin and it got stuck in my head. I always thought that Mac would be awesome in a steam punk world so now here it is combined. I don't want to give away everything so I will add more tags as the chapters go. I wont have much of a posting schedule I live in Nepal at the moment and my internet is iffy at best, but at the slowest I will be posting monthly until it is done.  
> Thank you to my awesome beta that makes sure I don't make silly mistakes, but if there are anything more please let me know.  
> Thanks for giving my story a try!

Jack surveyed the market square of Core City from a roof top using his new goggles to search for any hidden magical items, gem or expensive metals. He was going to have to give Riley a bonus for this contraption because it was working like a charm. Through the tinted glass he could see sparks of color marking the different items. The jewelry cart and magic seller were both ablaze with colors, but he tried to avoid stealing directly from merchants. It was much to difficult to avoid attention when the merchants hated him too.

He saw some good potentials in the market goers, this time in the afternoon was when the wealthy came out to browse. There was a soft drone of voices mixing with the clanking and steam exhaust that was a constant companion in the mostly metal city. Jack loved it, relishing the noise and the hordes of people down below. He was never one for silence or being alone.

Jack watched waiting for a perfect mark and found one in a pudgy man after he pushed a young errand boy into the dirt. Jack never liked bullies and he always enjoyed the days they could be his mark. He liked to consider himself a gentleman thief, only taking from those that could afford it and always paying extra attention to the nasty rich which in his experience tended to be most of them.

He slipped down from his perch and made is way into the market with practiced ease. He kept his goggles down and had his hood up, just in case a regular decided to out him to the guards. Growing up a street kid and stealing to survive made him very good at what he did, but also very well known to those that paid attention.

Making a quick pass, a small shoulder bump, and just a little bit of distracting dialog and the pudgy man's magic imbued pocket watch and his waist purse were both sitting comfortably in Jack's pocket. Jack fiddled with the purse and made sure he had enough coins to pay Riley, get some food for that night and give some to the street kids he knew around the area. Knowing the watch would also fetch a good price Jack decided he had enough for the day. No point in being greedy and getting caught.

He made his way through the rest of the market stopping for some bread, cheese, and apples for an evening meal. On the outskirts of the market Jack had to pause when he caught a flare from his goggles in the corner of his eye. He turned to find the back of a shrouded figure. Their head was wrapped in a tan scarf and the huge color flair was coming from a leather satchel hanging by their hip. From the shape of the figure Jack assumed it to be a young man slightly shorter and narrower than Jack.

Jack continued to stare pretending to look at a neighboring stall. He wished he could see more than just colors, so he could actually figure out what all that metal and magic was. _Could be the guy is a merchant of some kind,_ Hack thought to himself, but the plain clothes made of very nice material made him pause. The bag would also be incredibly easy to steal from and most merchants were smarter then that.

After a moment of contemplation Jack watched the person pick up a loaf of bread from the table and bend giving it to a skinny street kid holding out a beat up cup. The kid looked up in wonder and ran off. From experience Jack knew that kid could make that bread last a week if he was good at rationing.

_Well I have never known the rich to be kind, that’s a nice change,_ Jack thought happily to himself, about to turn away leaving the figure to their own devices.

The merchant was staring and Jack could see them beginning to get agitated when the stranger made no move to reach for money and turned to move on. The merchant grabbed the figure, “Hey! Who do you think you are? You have to pay for that.”

The figure turned slightly and Jack finally got a look at his face. It was indeed a young man, not far into adulthood; there was the barest hint of blond hair at the edge the scarf and flawless pale skin. He was beautiful Jack thought. A cleft in his chin and high noble cheek bones. And on top of it all were the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen.

Jack was frozen watching the man before he registered the confusion and slight fear in his eyes as he quietly stammered out, “I am sorry I have no money, the child is starved and could use the bread.”

The merchant’s face became darker, “then you’re a thief” he spit the words out and Jack could see the young man flinch at them and try to pull his hand back with no luck. “I think I will let the guards deal with you.”

At this point Jack jumped in and dropped a coin on the table, “how about you release my friend here and this covers the bread. Won’t happen again, I swear. Kids these days you know how it is.”

The merchant released his hold and took up the money almost instantly pocketing it, before giving a toothy unattractive grin to Jack. All too quickly the grin fell and the man started squinting at Jack's goggled face, “you’re Jack Dalton......This money is probably stolen too. GUARDS!”

Instantly Jack saw a pair of the automaton guards coming their way, “damn it, seriously that was way more than the bread was worth. Why’d you have to go and call the guards.” He grabbed the younger man’s arm and took off out of the market. Getting a surprised squeak from the man that Jack would have found adorable if hulking automatons weren’t in pursuit.


	2. Small Exploding Orbs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the second one since the first was pretty short. Hope you enjoy!

There was yelling behind them and it drove Jack faster. Out of nowhere two more automatons appeared in front of them and Jack skidded to a halt. “Damn auto-brain networks”, Jack mumbled to himself.

Quickly looking around he made a quick assessment: no alley, no useful weapons, and guards approaching from both sides with stun arms raised. Jack glanced up seeing if there was a way up to the roof through the network of pipes and other metal that tangled around the city. _There!_ One spot, way too close to the guards and he had no idea if the kid could climb like he could. Speaking of the kid, Jack saw he was also looking behind and forward rapidly, and instead of the expected fear Jack saw determination. The hand not still in Jack's grip was rummaging inside his satchel, grabbing something that Jack’s goggles were definitely showing to be sparking with magic, “uh kid you got a plan here, cause whatever it is you might want to make it quick.”

The young man hummed slightly, “yeah I got this, just a second more.”

Waiting for something Jack couldn't comprehend the kid continued his forward and backwards glancing. Then without a word he whipped out a small orb, pressing a button as he tossed it into the air. It made a click and a whir, then promptly exploded in a wave of magic. Instantly Jacks goggles stopped transmitting their detection signals and all four automatons dropped to the ground lifeless. Jack gave a whoop and plowed right on past the fallen guards continuing to pull his companion along.

“Damn kid wasn't that something, really hope that isn't permanent though cause you shorted my new goggles too” Jack said grinning as he ran through the streets back to his hideout.

The man chuckled deep and happy. Jack definitely liked that sound. He responded, “I swear it’s temporary I would never make something that would destroy an automaton. Their life cores make them almost as human as we are. Just, you know, easy to manipulate and control. I just blocked the magical impulses for a while if you have anything else core powered it’s also going to be out a while.”

Jack glanced at his companion, he noticed his scarf had fallen from his head showing off his shaggy blond hair, “so you’re some kind of inventor then. Making crazy amazing things to get away from guards. You probably just put a nice target on my back though. I am sure that display was transmitted to all the city autos.”

The kid blushed panting out, “I dabble I guess. My father doesn't like that pass time, but I need to do something with my hands. Sorry about the target. It was all I had at the time.”

Jack hummed in response and slowed them to a walk. He didn’t hear any more angry automatons and figured that it was safe to walk as his companion was clearly not used to running for that long. Though, Jack realized, he was holding his own pretty well, he must do something physical in his free time. They would soon be off the street anyway.

“Well no worries about the target. There is always a small one on my back. I tend to live outside a lot of laws, if you get me. We’re almost back at my home, so why don’t you sit down for a while. My little sister will certainly want to talk to you about that little orb of yours, you could say she is a dabbler too. Just realized I never got your name, kid”

“oh... its...uhm.... its Mac. Also, I am not a kid. I'm 19.”

Jack noticed the stutter over the name probably not a real name then, but he couldn't blame a guy for wanting to be invisible. Jack let himself chuckle, “well you look all of 15 with your scruffy blond hair and big puppy dog eyes” yep that got the kid sputtering, “besides I am at the ripe old age of 23, so you’re still a kid to me. My name’s Jack Dalton by the way, if you missed that merchant flinging it around.”

Mac responded a little indignant, “that's only four years and I do not have puppy dog eyes.”

Jack smiled, he was enjoying this, “you keep telling yourself that. I obviously have much more experience in the world if your bread incident was anything to go by. What exactly were you thinking?”

Mac turned a deep shade of red, “I.... well.... I don’t know. I saw a skinny starving kid and a table of bread. I didn’t even think about money. I have never had to worry about it before.” He got quieter as he got to the end of his words.

Jack glanced over again, “alright you are definitely from the palace. When was the last time you were out in the real world?”

Mac’s eyes grew sad when he responded, “Not since my mom died. It’s been a while. How did you know that I am from the palace?”

Jack gave him a small sympathetic smile and a squeeze to the hand he was still holding. _Wait I should probably let go, but he doesn't seem to mind,_ Jack thought and decided to keep it there. He spoke softly, but still had a bit of his cockiness, “I know this city like the back of my hand. Never seen you in the inner circle with other nobles and you don't look traveled enough to have been from another city. And your clothes even if plain are made of high end fabric from outside the city. I have seen that stuff taken from ships straight to the palace on many occasions. With all that I made a guess and then you just confirmed it.”

“Oh” Mac gave in response turning once again a lovely shade of red. Jack really liked how easy it was to fluster the kid. “I was trying to stay hidden, my father is protective and would have been very displeased if he found out that I had snuck out.”

Jack grinned, “your secret’s safe with me. I won't be talking to a guard anytime soon, not after what went on today. Not that I ever had a want to talk to guards before today.” He gave Mac a wink.

Mac smiled, “I am glad you showed up when you did. Its nice to talk to someone that knows the world out here.”

“eh, I know the city. Never been out of it. Once thought I would fly through the skies be the best airship captain out there, but you take what life gives and I would never be able to go to flight school and refuse to be a pirate so here I am. Making pennies off the pompous rich.” He tapped his pocket making the bag of coins rattle, “and speaking of life here we are at my home.”

Jack stopped walking and Mac gave him a confused look, “its a metal wall.”

Jack lightly smacked Mac’s shoulder, “that's what we want you to think. Now Mr. Inventor man lets see if you can figure out how to get in without my help. I will give you a minute.”

Mac’s eyes lit up, “it’s a secret door right?”

 _So I was right he does like this kind of thing,_ Jack thought as he nodded.

The blond removed his hand from Jack's and started to feel the wall while intensely looking for anything out of place. Jack was sad to lose the feeling of the other man’s hand. He was really getting used to it there, it fit. He watched the younger man smiling affectionately. That made him pause, _when did I become the guy that falls for people so quickly? But I really like this kid. Beautiful, kind, with automaton ass kicking little orb things. My kind of guy._ His smile faded a little when he remembered he was a noble and not just any noble, but one that lived in the palace. _Just going to have to put a little more effort in then._ He wasn't worried about Mac being straight he could already tell from the extended hand holding and blushing that he at least had an open mind to romance with other males. He realized he was getting ahead of himself. Riley always told him to slow down, that he rushed into everything including love and it just leaves him with a broken heart and moping around the hideout for days. He couldn't assume Mac liked him, the blushing could just show he was flattered or not used to casual compliments.

Jack was pulled out of his thoughts as Mac let out a triumphant “ah, there it is” and pressed down on what looked like a normal screw. It pushed into the wall and the metal panel swung inwards revealing a well lit stairway into the building.

Jack clapped and Mac beamed at him. His smile made Jack want to grab him and never let go. _Yep, not going to be able to let this one go._

Jack grabbed Mac's hand again and pulled him inside, “come on you have to meet my little sis you’re going to love her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think. I will have good internet again at the beginning of February at the latest another chapter will be up then.


	3. A Day Unlike Any Other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back on wifi and will be posting as much as I can over the next three days. I loved the comments I got and it made me crack down and write a lot. My lovely beta firefly734 is working diligently to edit and more will be posted as they are edited.  
> Here is a chapter from Mac's perspective and you get to meet this world's Riley. Enjoy the Read!

To say Mac’s day was anything like he had anticipated would have been a outright lie. His plan was to just explore a little bit get a better feel for his city. The last time he had left the palace grounds was nearly 10 years ago and without an escort he was invisible, so he could really see and experience the city.

Now the bread had been dumb. He can easily admit that now. He had no clue what he was thinking because he really wasn't. He saw a starving kid and bread and decided to fix it. It was while staring at the angry merchant afterwards he did it that his father's voice popped in his head, _“Think about your actions and all possible consequences. People always want something. There will always be give and take.”_ He had obviously forgotten that lesson.

Then Mr. tall, dark, and goggled stepped in. He threw down a coin and in a deep, slightly accented voice attempted to charm the merchant. Mac was certainly charmed by the scruffy shadow of a beard surrounding the man's strong jaw and dazzling smile. The man looked so confident and casual, the complete opposite of Mac’s usual awkwardness. With his dark leather hood and goggles there wasn't much else he could see. He barely noticed his arm being released and almost missed the words, but heard Jack Dalton. _That’s a nice name,_ he thought.

He did not miss the word “guards” being screamed out or the comeback from Jack, yeah, he could get used to Jack. Then he let out a squeak -that was embarrassing- as he got pulled out of there and dragged down the street.

At that point Mac’s normally constantly moving brain failed and all he could do was keep holding Jack's hand and race down the street with him. Then the other guards showed up and his brain started working again. The only possible escape he could see was up and he had no clue if he could climb well enough or if Jack even could. Then he fumbled with his satchel for the small core freezing orb he had designed. For just a moment he watched the two groups getting closer waiting for the right moment. When both groups were close enough he threw it in the air and said a silent prayer that it worked. And to his partial surprise it did. Bozer always told him his inventions worked more than they failed, but there was always a moment that he was sure everything would go wrong.

The whoop Jack gave made his heart sing a little and they raced down more streets. Finally slowing and having what Mac thought was a really nice conversation even if he was beet red for the majority of it. Jack was really easy to talk to. He was just so genuine and kind, being an obvious thief not withstanding, and he was taking him back to his home. Mac could almost forget for a moment that there was no way he could ever actually be with Jack and just enjoy this time outside the palace.

The hidden door surprised him and it was intriguing, but he found the secret button being able to just barely see the crack around the screw showing that it wasn’t what it seemed. Then Jack was grabbing his hand again, he really didn’t want that to stop happening, and was pulled up the stairs.

Near the top Jack called out, “Hey Riles, I’m home and I brought a friend. You wouldn't believe the thing he made. It was great!”

“I am in the lab, Jack!” was the only response from a distinctly female voice.

Once within the room Mac had to pause and take it all in. The room was well lit and filled with gadgets and little bobbles on shelves lining the walls. Off to one side was a small kitchen set-up and there was a comfortable looking sofa near the center of the room. There were four doors leading out of the room one was open and Mac could see sparks and flashes of light coming out of it. There was also a ladder on one side and Mac could only guess it went to the roof, the building hadn't looked that tall from the outside. Jack gave him a moment to take things in and Mac really appreciated that. He liked the opportunity to analyze and take in the room.

Jack gave his hand a little squeeze and smiling tipped his head towards the open door, asking silently if Mac was ready to move on. Mac nodded, excited to see more of Jack’s home.

Jack knocked on the door frame to get the occupant’s attention then pulled Mac fully into the room. “Riles, let me introduce to you.... Mac! A man that can put down four autos with a press of a button.” Jack exclaimed grinning in happiness.

A young woman in a similar set of goggles to Jack’s stood before them at a work bench covered in gears, scrap, and little glowing spheres and gems. She had darker skin than Jack and had her curly black hair up in a bun on top of her head. _Not actual siblings then or not full siblings in any case_ , Mac thought to himself contemplating the woman. She looked up, smiling at them before holding out a hand to Mac, “nice to meet you, Mac, my name is Riley Davis. Inventor of all things useful for those that live on the edge.” She gave a wink like Jack had, “A friend of Jack’s is a friend of mine. Since this old man wouldn't have it any other way.”

Jack sputtered a bit, “I am not old!”

Mac laughed out, “you called yourself old not ten minutes ago.”

Jack stood open mouthed and Riley laughed, “I think I am going to like you, anyone that can make Jack shut up for a minute is golden in my book.”

Jack pouted, “well you **kids** ,” he put a lot of emphasis on the kids, “should get to know each other a little, you both have freaky techy brains that I don’t get. I am going to go get some snacks.” And with that he released Mac’s hand, but not without a little squeeze and went back into the other room.

Mac looked down at his boots, suddenly uncomfortable in the presence of the new stranger while playing with the strap of his bag with both of his now free hands. He opened his mouth and shifted a little trying to think of something to say and looked at the worktable instead of at Riley, “so, uhm, what are you working on?”

Riley chuckled putting a hand out gesturing for him to come closer, “come look, I am just putting the finishing touches on my new invention I am calling ABU, the Autonomous Biological Unit.” Mac took a step forward and saw a clockwork monkey laid out on the table. “I am combining a totally autonomous brain core with a remote core, so this little monkey can just do its own thing, but can also transmit video and audio to this relay,” she points at a small box with a glass viewing panel and a small sound horn, “I can also give commands from here if needed, but it should be capable of being trained and take commands from people in its vicinity. Just like a real monkey!”

Mac nodded along looking at the contraption, “this is really well made, it has so many joints. I have seen some clockwork animals that can barely move and are little more then a child's toy. Why a monkey?”

Riley smiled before looking out the door to make sure Jack was still gone before whispering, “I am making this for Jack and I thought he would get an absolute kick out of wandering around with a monkey on his shoulder.”

Mac chuckled and looked out towards where Jack had gone, “Yeah, I could see him enjoying that. It's very impressive. I can do the clockwork mechanics and rudimentary magic work with the cores, but I don’t think I would be able to program cores to the level that you are putting into this.”

Riley gave a small shrug, “Cores are kind of my specialty. I have programmed them to do all sorts of tasks. Jack said you took down four autos with something. How did you manage that?”

Mac blushed slightly and pulled his bag off his shoulder before setting it on the table. Opening it he got a raised eyebrow from Riley when she saw it was filled with all manner of small gadgets and scraps of larger works. He blushed deeper, pulling out another one of the orbs, “I used this. It has a negative core that when broken with this button,” he pointed at the only piece of raised metal on the surface of the orb, “will release its magic in a wave the disrupts positive cores in its proximity. It won’t destroy anything but takes things out of commission for a couple minutes.”

Riley looked impressed, “Can I take a look at that? Never would have thought to use negative core mechanics in such a way.”

Mac handed it to her, “you can keep it if you like, I can always make more. It seems like something that would be useful for Jack to stay out of trouble,” he smiled remembering their flight from the market then he blushed and rushed, “or you if you needed it. I don’t know if you go do what Jack does, but I definitely wouldn’t want either one of you getting grabbed. You might be breaking laws, but I can tell you are good people. Cause... uhm well...” he paused not knowing how to go on, “you guys are.”

Riley gave him a knowing smile, “Yeah, I would say we are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next will be up shortly, let me know what you think!


	4. Man or Wife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second for the night! (well my night at least) More with Mac's perspective. I also would like to share that somewhere around the time I was writing this chapter YouTube decided to recommend Thomas Sander's "A Gay Disney Prince" to me. If you like song parodies it's pretty cute and really fit into what I was writing which made me smile.
> 
> Thank you, firefly734 for being the best beta

Mac and Riley were smiling silently at each other for a moment when there was a soft rap on the door frame and Jack came back in with some cut up bread, apples, and cheese. Mac took him in again. He had removed his hooded leather jacket and his goggles. He was wearing a plain grey cotton shirt that pulled slightly across his shoulders and upper chest showing off the muscles there. Mac could now take in his short cropped brown hair and deep chocolate brown eyes. Mac had to swallow at how handsome Jack was when his face was fully uncovered.

Jack met his eye with a small smile, then looked over at Riley, “alright you two come out here and eat before I lose you both to this black hole of a lab.”

The younger two shared a look, but followed Jack out of the room, sitting on the sofa. It was as comfortable as it looked. Jack sat between the other two and casually put an arm across the back of the sofa behind Mac. No one had ever done that with him and it filled Mac with a warmth he hadn't known he was longing for. He felt protected just as himself and not as the idea of what he was.

Mac took a bite of apple then asked, “So how long have you known each other? Jack calls you his sister, but well...” he waved a hand between them, “you two don't look biologically related.”

Jack chuckled at his choice of words and nudged Riley with his elbow. They smiled at each other, “I found this little thing when I was nine, she was only six. At that point I was living with a gang of other street kids and took her back with me. We went our separate ways from them a couple years later. You could say we had different moral standards than them. A really nice old man brought us here, we kept each other alive and he worked with Riley on mechanics and core programming.” Jack waved his hand around the room, “A lot of these things were actually his creations, but he passed a few years ago, so it just became the two of us again.”

“So you’re both orphans then” Mac stated rather bluntly, then realizing how that sounded he continued, “if you don’t mind me asking I mean. I am very curious about your lives. They are so different from my own.”

Riley chuckled, “we don’t mind talking about it. As long as you’ll give us some dish from the palace.” Riley winked and Mac thought to himself, _how did she know I was from the palace too. I don’t think Jack has had the chance to tell her_. Riley continued, “my dad might still be alive, he walked out on my mom and I when I was five. My mom was already sick and died not very long after that.”

Mac gave a soft hum of sympathy, “my mom died when I was nine, it’s really rough.”

Jack sighed between the two of them, “let me tell you just knowing them for a little while is better than nothing. I was left at an orphanage as a baby, no clue who my parents are.” He was leaning back staring at the ceiling now with both arms behind the other two.

Mac let out a small gasp, “I am so sorry, Jack. I shouldn't have brought it up.”

Jack looked over and met Mac’s eyes, “If I didn't want you to know I wouldn't have said it. It wasn’t the best place, but I got out of there at seven and have been living large since.” Jack glanced over at the now empty plate and stood up holding a hand out to Mac, “come on I want to show you something.”

Mac nodded and accepted the hand, getting pulled up with a little more force then he had expected, causing him to stumble into Jack who held him for a moment. They looked at each other frozen before Riley let out a cough. They hastily moved back from each other both turning a deep red.

Riley chuckled, “I am going to go finish my project and leave you two alone.” She left them with a wink causing mac to feel his face heat even more.

“Right!” Jack burst out, “this way up to the roof” and pulled him to the ladder. Jack went first and pushed open the hatch before climbing out. Mac quickly followed.

Once he was fully upright Mac was stunned by the view. It appeared that Jack’s home was up on a hill providing an awesome view of the city. The afternoon sun glowed and reflected off metal. Plumes of steam were twisting around as they were dissipating into the sky. He could see the palace from here and marveled at its size compared to other buildings. He had always thought of it as rather small growing up.

In the distance he saw and heard the elevated steam train making its way from the inner circle to the sky harbor on the edge of the tall cliff over the glittering ocean.

“Jack” he breathed out, “this is amazing. To see the city from this side...... You can see forever.”

Jack hummed leaning back against the half wall around the roof top, openly starring at Mac instead of the view. Mac blushed again when he noticed. He had probably blushed more today than he had in the last five years. Jack just had that way about him.

Mac glanced back out just watching the city. He could see into the streets and all the people milling about doing work. He could see the large blimps coming and going from the port and a few smaller crafts jetting between them. One caught his eye and he groaned before he could catch himself.

Jack glanced over the city before looking back at mac, “what's wrong?”

Mac sighed thinking for a second about what to say without revealing too much, he really didn’t want to lie to Jack, “There is a ship with the Henriette Matriarchy royal flags meaning yet another princess is here to court the prince. Its just very annoying to deal with.”

Jack watched Macs face, but Mac kept his eyes turned away, “you must be close to the prince.” Mac hummed as his only response and Jack continued, “maybe this princess will be different. If I remember right its been over a year since our illusive prince started courting, he will eventually find one he likes.”

Mac snorted unable to stop himself from saying, “that is incredibly doubtful considering the prince would want a husband long before ever taking a wife.”

Jack raised his eyebrows and with confidence asked, “and what about you? Would you fancy a man or a woman?”

Mac sputtered turning almost completely away from Jack staring down at the streets trying to find anything to distract him from the growing warmth in his belly. He whispered softly, “I too prefer men.”

Jack moved up behind Mac slowly wrapping his arms around his waist, giving Mac a chance to stop the action, but he didn’t. Jack nuzzled Mac’s hair, “oh good I thought I was misreading you. Men are also my preference.”

Mac sighed, leaning into the embrace. This is what he wanted. What he always wanted, but it would only hurt Jack if he let any of this continue. He started to speak, “Jack I really like you, but-“ he cut off and tensed in Jacks embrace when he noticed two very familiar women walking down one of the side streets nearby. Royal guard uniforms obvious in the afternoon sun. _Shit,_ he thought to himself, _Bozer you were supposed to keep them distracted._ He slipped out of Jack's arms and held up his hand as he moved backwards towards the ladder, “I am so sorry Jack. I have to go. There’s nothing wrong with you I promise. You’re amazing really. I just... I....I have to get back to the palace. Help the prince get ready for this new princess. I had a great time getting to know you. Thanks for everything.”

Then he rushed down the ladder and ran out of the house. He heard Jack behind him but kept running in the direction he saw his two most trusted guards.

Mac turned a corner and in his rush almost ran into them, the taller blond of the pair reached out and steadied him and with her unique accent said in surprise, “Prince Angus where in the world have you been?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No more tonight. I have to sleep, but I have more chapters ready to post in the morning! I hope you are enjoying it.


	5. We Need a Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good afternoon! We are back to Jack. This is the only one for the time being. Sorry everyone, friends don't let Beta edit drunk. We will get to more editing and more will be up this afternoon and evening.

Jack was frozen when Mac first went stiff then started blabbering about leaving. Instantly he thought he had done or said something terribly wrong, but he heard Mac call him amazing and that made his head start to float. They both liked each other and all Jack could think was this could be it, maybe he was the one. Things rushed back when he watched Mac’s head disappear down the hatch. He moved after him practically jumping down the hole instead of using the ladder. When his feet hit the ground Mac's back was already going down the stairs.

Jack called out, “Mac, wait! please!”

Mac didn’t even pause at the words and just kept running. By the time Jack made it to street level Mac had vanished he called out one more time, “Mac, come back!” and in his head he thought, _that man is fast when he wants to be._ He slumped against the wall. There was no point in blindly running after him. Core City was a maze and there was no telling what way he would take back to the palace.

Jack let out a deep sigh as he pushed himself off the wall and went back into his home. He instantly dropped to the sofa putting his head in his hands.

He heard Riley walk up and drop next to him, putting an arm around him she said, “so I take it things didn't go the way you had hoped. I really thought you two had a lot of chemistry.”

Jack sighed again, lifting his head to look at the one person who had always been there for him, “Oh Riley. It was going so well, he admitted he likes men and that he liked me, but I don’t know, he got all stiff then freaked out. He just took off with some mumbled excuse about needing to go back and help the Prince. I don't know what changed. Why do I have the worst luck with men?”

Riley raised her eyebrow then squeezed his shoulders more, “because, big brother, you wear your heart on your sleeve and when you fall you fall all the way. Its who you are and its why I love you. Don't think I have put up with you this long for nothing. Who knows there might be a chance he could come back. He did leave his bag in the workshop after all.”

Jack perked at that, “he did? Then he will definitely want it back. There's a lot of stuff in there.”

Riley shrugged noncommittally, “I don’t want to get your hopes up that much, but its possible. He could probably get all of it again pretty easily being a palace noble.”

Jack sat in silence thinking about that. What were the chances that Mac had anything important enough in his bag to actually come back and get it? There was always the chance he would.....or-“I guess I just have to go return it to him.” Jack instantly shot up and started pacing with a new excitement, “how hard could it be really?”

Riley was staring at him like he had gone insane, “how hard could it be? Are you crazy?! That’s the palace. There is a reason we pick pocket people on the street not break into the freaking palace.”

Jack shrugged, “I mean we have never had a reason to try. I get in, get a servant’s uniform and just find Mac’s quarters. Probably near the prince's as it sounded like they are close. There are hundreds of people living in the palace. The hardest thing will be to get past the exterior guards, the rest would be easy. Unless you know something I don't.”

Riley still had a frown on her face, but sighed, “hmmm......alright if we are doing this, we do it my way. None of your showy dangerous stunts for this one. I want you to have happiness and I know you’re crazy enough to do this without me, so we make a plan. First, I need to finish Abu, then we make a plan. Should have it all ready in a few hours.”

“ABU? What’s that?” Jack asked, not even questioning when Riley took charge of the planning. She was better at that than him anyways.

Riley smiled at him, “It was supposed to be a surprise, but its your new monkey sidekick.”

Jack perked at that, “Monkey? That's awesome!”

“Come take a look, it will allow me to be with you through anything that you do.” She gave Jack a pointed look, “without me being in any danger as you always insist on.”

Jack held up his hands in surrender, “Alright, alright. I’m over protective, I know. It will be nice having back up though.”

By that time they were in the lab starring down at the lifeless mechanical monkey. Jack’s smile grew, “oh man, this thing looks so cool. Is it going to be all monkey like and everything?”

Riley chuckled at his excitement as she grabbed the last few things and got to work, “yeah unless I give it specific commands from here, it will be exactly like a monkey. It will even have the capacity to learn so you can train it how you want when I am not monitoring it.”

Jack rubbed his hands together excitedly, “Riley you always know just how to make me happy, you know that? This is going to be so great I get a pet and a partner in crime.”

Riley snorted, “just remember I can tap into its eyes and ears whenever I want to, so don't be doing something I wouldn't approve of.”

Jack crossed his arms, “Oh, so this is your way of keeping track of me.”

Riley glanced up at him and very sarcastically said, “No I would never want to make sure you don’t do something stupid. I have the utmost faith in your ability to stay out of trouble.”

Jack rolled his eyes, “Ha-ha very funny. I am aware I tend to act rashly and jump into things, but I am still alive and not in prison so there is that.”

Riley responded with a slight head tilt, “There is that indeed. Now go leave me alone so I can finish more quickly. Take a nap or something.”

Jack waved a hand in her direction, but let her be and left her work space. Going to one of the other doors in the main room he went into his bedroom and laid down. He stared at the model dirigible hanging from the ceiling that the old man had put up when he learned about Jacks dream of flying. Not that Jack thought the dream would ever come true, but it was nice to look at when he was younger and he never could bring himself to take it down. He closed his eyes and let his thoughts drift to Mac. He had never felt this instant rush he did when around Mac. His eyes sparkling, his smile bright, and their hands intertwined.

He could still feel the slightly smaller mans back pressed against his chest as he embraced him on the roof. His soft blonde hair tickling face and smelling of some expensive soap. Clean and somehow so perfect for the young man. Jack took a deep breath, shoving his face into his pillow and smelling his own much less fancy soap, trying to relax enough to take a nap like Riley had suggested.

It surprisingly didn't take Jack’s mind long to drift off to sleep, with images of the young blonde still at the forefront of his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


	6. That is Not a Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another from Mac's perspective. Surprise! Murdoch is Jafar. I find them both really interesting and creepy villain characters. I make him just a little extra creepy because I like making Mac uncomfortable (sorry Mac). Also, I am neutral about James and this is written as such just so you all know.
> 
> WARNINGS: Unwanted attention, being stalked

Mac sat rigidly on his throne next to his father’s larger one. There was too much on his mind and being the good prince and greeting the Matriarchy representatives was not something he wanted to be doing. He would rather be in his suite working on gadgets to replace all the ones he had left -like an idiot- at Jack’s. He had to keep himself from sighing at the thought of Jack. He was absolutely everything Mac wanted and everything he couldn't have.

When he had run into Sam and Desi, he had given a short explanation. He said that his bag had been stolen and he was running from thief, but thought he lost them. He didn't describe anything that would point to Jack and made them drop it saying the bag wasn't important. His guards were understandably pissed at him. He wasn’t supposed to be outside the palace and especially without guards. It took most of the walk back to convince them not to tell his father. He was glad that their loyalty lay with him instead of the King. He was also thankful they hadn’t informed his father before they left to search. Bozer had been able to convince them of that much at least and he had managed to stall a least a little.

He glanced over at his best friend, Duke Wilt Bozer, who was standing by the side wall with other nobility. Bozer smiled at him and gave him an encouraging thumbs up, though he knew Mac wouldn’t be happy with any princess that walked through the door.

Bozer had just slightly darker skin than Riley had and always had the biggest smiles. His hair was cut short, but at the height of fashion as always. Fashion was his hobby and he often spent time with the palace seamstresses. The women all found him charming and he always said if he weren’t a noble and crown prince’s best friend he would have gone out and created the best functional fashion the world had ever seen. They had known each other their whole lives, Bozer a couple years older, but they became inseparable after it was decided the young prince needed a playmate and the two were given the same tutors growing up. Mac had to try a little harder to keep up at first with the age gap, but he was able to do it and eventually exceeded Bozer. His friend never minded though, always saying his little brother’s brain was just ready to take on the world. If only Mac could use his brain the way he wanted instead of being forced to marry and then lead a people he honestly knew nothing of.

Mac sighed inwardly, never letting his calm exterior break as he had been taught since he was a child. At least he had Bozer and that was never going to change. It was assumed when Mac took the throne that Bozer would be by his side as his Grand Vizier. Mac never refuted this as he saw no reason for it not to be true. Bozer was the one person he trusted above all others. A person so genuinely kind and real, unlike so many of the nobility that Mac had the misfortune of associating with on a daily basis.

The worst in his mind was his father's Grand Vizier. He had no idea why his father had picked him really. Mac could see him out off the corner of his eye. The oily man with his glinting magical monocle standing slightly behind King James MacGyver, but thankfully on the other side of the throne from Mac. He was leaning over whispering to the King who was giving his full attention. Mac could feel that unwanted gaze flicking over to him every so often, but he refused to glance back and acknowledge the other. He never understood what the man saw in him that fascinated him so much. The leering looks and smiles he had gotten since hitting puberty put it over the top though. That man made Mac incredibly nervous and he was glad that there was never a reason for them to be alone together.

Nobody knew his story or even his first name he was just Grand Vizier Murdoch. He showed up out of the blue shortly after the queen’s death and within a year had wormed his way into the position of Grand Vizier. He had been barely an adult and still won the king’s complete trust.

His father was almost the opposite as far as giving Mac attention went. While the other two spoke about what Mac could only assume was him, King James’s eyes never strayed from the far door where the Matriarchy would soon enter. As a father he was pretty terrible. When his mother was alive King James was a kind loving father who spent hours working with Mac on little projects. After her death though he became distant and eventually started ignoring Mac completely unless he was criticizing something he did or giving him a “you will be king one day” lesson. He was still very protective of him, making the rule that Mac could never leave the palace and monitoring those that were assigned to the Prince. As far kings went mac would admit he was decent. He was fair with taxes and openly traded with other kingdoms, but was ruthless when people opposed him or broke his laws. Their kingdom flourished and most looked to the MacGyver line with favor, at least from the nobility’s perspective. From what Mac had seen today he knew there was still parts of the kingdom struggling. Children living and starving on the streets. Corrupt nobility not even seeing the disparity.

Mac hoped he could change that when he was king. Try to make the kingdom flourish for all. Lost in his thoughts Mac almost missed the King’s call for attention, “Angus.”

Mac looked over instantly, “Yes, Father?”

King James was smiling a little, “I have been thinking and watching you recently, I have come to a realization that I should have had months ago, so I hope this time your courtship might go differently.” The King paused and looked at Mac in the eyes, not something that happened often, “I know I have been distant, but you are my only child and heir. I would like you to be happy in some form to lead this country as best as you can.”

Mac was a little shocked at his father’s words he hadn't gotten kind words like that, outside of public speeches, in years. Mac nodded his head, “Thank you, father, I want to do the best I can for our kingdom also.”

King James nodded once and turned back to the doors, the conversation over. Mac also turned to the doors contemplating what his father could have figured out that would make this courtship any different from the previous ones. The king gave a signal and the doors were opened.

Three figures walked in and Mac was confused. The two women in front were clearly guards and escort. The third person was dressed in finery befitting of royalty, but they were not a woman. It was a man.

Mac glanced at the King who continued to look ahead with a smile on his face, “Welcome to Core City, Prince Malcolm Trevor Henriette of the Matriarchy. We are so happy to have you here in our palace.”

Prince Malcolm stepped forward and gave a deep bow, “It is an honor to come for the chance to court your son. I am so happy to meet you Prince Angus Daniel MacGyver.”

Mac’s mind was running lightning fast, _my father actually found a prince for me to court. How did he even know? Well it doesn't matter this means he would accept a man as my partner! I have a chance to be somewhat happy now...... though I doubt a prince will ever be someone like Jack._

Mac internally shook himself from his thoughts before the pause became too great, “I too am happy to meet you, Prince Malcolm. Forgive my surprise, no one informed me I would be allowed to court another man.”

The Prince tilted his head in acceptance, “It was a surprise for me as well to hear of another prince who shared my preferences and one from such a great kingdom. I hope in the next couple weeks we will get know each other well and a marriage could be in our future.”

 _Alright that's a bit forward and rushing things,_ Mac thought to himself then out loud said, “I do hope so.”

King James decided to take over at that point saying to the gathered nobility, “This is a mark for the history books, tonight we feast then in the coming days the two princes shall get to know one another.”

There was polite clapping and people started to leave the throne room for the banquet hall and dinner. Mac who had been watching his father did not miss the hungry look that was on Murdoch’s face as he stared into the crowd. Mac was sure that wouldn't lead to anything good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Lots of new characters come in here. Its at this point when the plot thickens as a new writer I would love feedback on tags/warnings. I would rather be safe than sorry, so if I am missing something important please let me know. 
> 
> I honestly can't remember if Cage was ever called Sam in the show, but in my head Mac would call both of his guards by first name/nickname and Sam just fits her better than Samantha. She is Sam from now on.
> 
> Fun Fact: Lucas Till's middle name is Daniel :) I could think of a better one.


	7. Monkeys Make Things Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the whole day wait, had to do work in the morning and then was on a bus for 4 hours, but here's one for the night, more in the morning I promise. Did you see? It's officially completely written at 28 chapters. Just a matter of rereading and editing and posting as I go. Thank you, Firefly734 for being an excellent beta. Hope you all enjoy the chapter!

Jack woke with a start as a hard and small moving something dropped onto his chest. He instantly froze, eyes wide open before his brain processed the clockwork monkey sitting on his chest amber eyes glowing with life.

Jack smiled widely and said, “This is so awesome!”

The monkey cocked its head to the side and opened its mouth. Instead of monkey noise though Riley’s voice came through, “Of course it’s awesome. I have put weeks into it. Now get out here, so we can go over the plan I have figured out.”

Jack chuckled, muttering another, “So cool,” as he stood up holding out an arm for Abu, who instantly jumped up to Jack’s shoulder making Jack shudder with excitement.

Practically bouncing, Jack went into the living room where Riley was running a diagnostic on Abu’s control panel. He plopped down on the sofa next to her looking at the screen in her lap showing an image moving around as Abu assessed the room from it's perch on Jack’s shoulder.

Jack nudged Riley’s shoulder with his, ginning when he said, “Little sister, I think you have outdone yourself with this one. Is he running on his own right now?”

Riley looked over raising an eyebrow, “Instantly dubbing it a he, are you?” Jack just shrugged before Riley continued, “Well then yes **he** is running auto right now the only command I gave was to go wake you up. Then sent my words through him. Looks like everything is running smoothly, so I think I can call him a success.”

At that point Abu jumped down with a small clink of metal and started exploring the room, like the curious animal he was programmed to be. Jack smiled at it again before turning to Riley, “So Abu is awesome. We can establish that. Now what is your plan for our palace break in.”

“Well I took a little extra time while you napped to connect into the city’s core network and snuck this out.” Riley pulled out a data cube that glowed faintly with its magic, placing it on the coffee table where it unfolded into a rectangle and projected a shimmering image of the palace.

Jack gave a little whistle then rubbed his hands together in anticipation, “Man Riley your magic hacking skills never cease to amaze me. So what? I scale the walls, sneak past the outer guards, knock out a servant, take his uniform, and then go find Mac.”

Riley gave him an unamused look, “Well if you want to get caught and thrown in the dungeon instantly, yeah you do that. Or you listen to my plan and actually get to see Mac tonight instead of a cell.”

Jack held up his hands in surrender, “Alright, alright, I did say I would follow your plan.”

Riley nodded, “Thank you. Now here the plan-” Abu interrupted them by jumping up on a shelf and proceeding to knock everything off in a loud clatter. Riley looked at him open mouthed for a second before letting out a breath continuing, “Okay to start with I am going to keep control of Abu the whole time, so that doesn’t happen. We can teach him better later. Now for you......”

* * *

“Riley this is a boring plan, you know that right?” Jack said while standing in an alley across from the main coal warehouse that supplied palace.

Even through Abu’s horn Jack could still hear the exasperation when Riley responded “Jack we went over this. They have their daily delivery, but often make other small deliveries, so the guards wont question it. You just need a uniform and authorization paper both of which you can get inside. Sneaking into a coal house is a bit safer than sneaking into the palace.”

Jack sighed “Yeah, I know. Just less of a thrill involved.” Jack watched the street and saw a group of people making their way into the house, “Alright looks like the night shift is on. Time to go work my magic.”

Instead of Riley’s voice Abu gave a monkey chatter in agreement before he slipped out of sight into Jacks hood. Jack threw the magic dampening bag containing Mac’s satchel over his shoulder and casually walked across the street and into the coal house. A couple people glanced at him, but said nothing.

He made it all the way to the uniform closet before somebody spoke up, a supervisor by the looks of him, “Hey, you new here? Don’t think I have seen you around.”

Jack smiled companionably and gave the man his prepared speech, “Yeah this is my first night here, got sent up from the cliff street house. I hope my papers beat me. Would be terribly awkward if they didn't.”

The other man shook his head, “I haven’t seen them, but if I had a copper for every lost paper I would be living up in that palace. If they don’t show up at some point tonight, I deal with it tomorrow. Grab a uniform and get to work. Don’t worry I’ll make sure you get paid for the night.”

Jack gave a nod and quickly did just that, grabbing the grey coveralls and slipping them over his clothes. He heard a distinctly human chuckle from the clockwork monkey in his hood then quietly, “How is it that nobody ever questions your lies?”

Jack glanced around and he slipped behind a stack of equipment when no one was looking before responding, “Must be my dazzling smile and trusting face. Alright how long do I give it before handing the guy the fake order?”

“Just do it now, with the shift changing there will be less scrutiny.”

Jack hummed in agreement before slipping out of his hiding place and taking the well forged note out of his pocket. Going up to a supervisor that looked the most tired and likely to be at the end up their shift, “Hello sir, I was just handed a special order from the palace. May I get an authorization letter.”

The supervisor sighed barely glancing at the letter, “Why didn't you take this to your supervisor? I am just about out of here.”

Jack schooled his face into innocent puzzlement, “Well sir I couldn't find them and this is a rush order for the palace, I thought I should handle it quickly.”

They grunted in response opening a drawer and pulling out a form and stamping it with the magic imbued seal of the coal house, “Well then take it and get it done. Don’t make this a habit.”

Jack gave a little head bow taking the papers and turning away to hide the grin. After that, it didn’t take long for him to grab some coal to put in his bag to hide the satchel and leave the house. Once on the street, Jack did a little skip and started humming.

From Riley he got, “Don't get too cocky just because you tricked paper, a uniform, and coal out of people.”

Jack snorted, “Come on, Riles. Let me enjoy this moment. Nobody even suspected a thing. Now I just walk up to the palace and go inside, find a different uniform and find Mac. Easy-peasy”

Riley through Abu stabbed a metal finger into Jack’s back, “Don’t jinx it we aren't in yet.”

Jack gave a noncommittal grunt, “Just watch me.”

It was a short walk between the coal house and the back workers’ entrance of the palace. Jack took a deep breath, but didn't let his steps falter as he approached the guards. There were two human guards and one of the big hulking automaton guards. Riley’s words from earlier in the evening ran through his head, “ _Don't give any auto a reason to run your face. I have no way to wipe it from their brain banks right now.”_

Jack step up to the doors where one of the guards in a rather bored voice said, “State your business.”

“Coal delivery.” Jack said simply and held out official paper work. The guard took it and Jack had to give him credit, he actually read it over and scanned the seal for authenticity. As much as it may be a boring job, they took it seriously.

“You’re missing the room here, where is it going?” The guard said simply, but didn't look suspicious about the missing information.

 _Think, Jack, think,_ he said to himself before deciding to take a little risk, “It was ordered by the prince.”

The guard nodded and handed the paper's back, “Of course it was. You look new, do you know how to get to his highness’s quarters?”

 _Damn this is even easier; I don’t even I have switch uniforms. Apparently the prince likes his coal,_ Jack thought as he shook his head to the guard.

The guard sighed before giving the door behind him a rap. It opened to another guard and a bustling courtyard of servants and workman.

“I need this one escorted to the Prince’s suite. He's new.” The inner guard nodded, gesturing for Jack to follow and Jack did just that.

The palace was a sprawling maze and Jack was pretty sure he would have never found his way without the escort. They passed a lot of people and Jack realized that within the palace was basically another city. For the most part they were ignored, but at one point the guard came to a complete stop and bent forward into a bow. Jack of course did the same after a quick glace at who was approaching. Average height, dark haired with a fancy monocle and tall snake head staff. He was dressed in very fine robes and the look he passed over Jack was filled with loathing. Something about the man put Jack on edge and he held very still in his bow until the man had passed. Jack had to let out a little shiver before asking the guard, “who was that? He looked really important.”

The guard glanced back down the hall for a moment before continuing forward, “Grand Vizier Murdoch. He's second only to the King. Rumor has it that he's even more ruthless with punishment than the king. That’s a warning to you, don’t draw his attention or you will wish you never had an assignment in the palace.”

Jack swallowed, “Right, I will keep that in mind.”

They continued in silence up a few flights of stairs and eventually coming to a stop in one of the many open courtyards they had passed at different levels. The guard pointed at a set of doors, “Through there is the Prince’s suite, you will have to announce yourself to his guards before putting the coal in the workroom.”

Jack nodded and was left alone. He took a moment to whisper to Riley who had been keeping silent the whole time, “So I made it. That was way simpler than I thought it would be. Sure are some terrifying people in the palace though. Next step, how do I find Mac?”

Slightly muffled from his hood Riley said, “I was looking around as much as I could on the way in, I saw something every interesting and I think you should go talk to the Prince. I am sure he will lead you to Mac.”

“Well that's mysterious. What did you see?”

“Just go meet the prince.”

“Alright, fine.” Jack huffed and made his way to the big doors and knocked. They were opened a crack by a female guard with short black hair and olive toned skin.

She was shorter than Jack, but had a fire in her eyes that said she could probably kick his ass if she needed to. Her voice held the same commanding quality, “What’s your business?”

Jack held up the bag innocently. He opened it to show the coal inside and said, “Coal delivery for the prince.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, then turned her head to say behind her, “Did the prince mention a coal order to you?”

A second female voice with a foreign accent replied, “No, let me take a look at this delivery man”

The door was opened to a taller blonde woman with the same no-nonsense stance as the first guard. _Man, the prince has some scary guards,_ Jack thought to himself. She held up an intentions glass to her eye and cocked her head, “Well his intentions are good, he means no harm. Either Prince Angus forgot to mention it or this is some fan boy. Either way I am sure he will want to coal. Follow us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my take on a smart realistic way to break into the Palace. Riley would have never let Jack attempt how Aladdin got in. Love to here how you like it. Back to Mac in the morning!


	8. Jack!?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The big reveal! This is done from Mac's side of things. I really enjoyed this chapter, so I hope you all do to.
> 
> Thank you for being beta, firefly734

Mac was sprawled across the fancy -not as soft as Jack’s- sofa in his sitting room with an arm thrown over his face, “I can’t believe my father is going to let me court another prince. I know it’s legal in our nation, but I didn’t think my father would be that open.”

Bozer chuckled from his armchair manipulating some clay in his hands, “Yeah and that’s after you met the man of your dreams while running around the city.”

Mac raised his arm to glare at his friend, “Don't remind me. I am never going to see him again and it will be better if I give this Prince a chance.” Mac had only recently finished telling Bozer everything about his adventure in the city, leaving nothing out. They hadn't had time to talk before meeting the matriarchy and dinner, so Bozer had cornered him before he could make it to his work shop and made him spill everything.

Now Mac was **not** sulking on the sofa while Bozer messed around with some of his clay.

Bozer snorted when Mac mentioned the Matriarchy prince, “Sorry man, but the Matriarchy is not known for its fighting men. The women are awesome, but the men are very subdued compared to here. I guess being a pampered prince that wasn't being raised to be a leader one day doesn't help him in that department either. He’s certainly pretty and very well mannered, but did you see? He wouldn't even eat the fish at dinner because the face hadn't been removed and it was looking at him. A man that can’t eat the chef’s decadent fish isn't good enough for my little brother.”

“Don't I know it. I hope this isn't a trend. My father seems fairly set on a prince now, so hopefully there are more gay princes out there that actually would make a good king.” Mac let out a heavy sigh, “I think Jack would be a good king, he's kind, brave, and actually understands the world outside these walls.”

Bozer tilted his head, “And not to mention he’s dashingly handsome, right?”

Mac stared at the tiled ceiling and breathed out an extended, “Yeah....... he really is. If only he were a noble then I could probably convince my father to bend the royalty law some.” Mac punched the back of the sofa and looked over at Bozer, “Why do I even have to marry? If my father is accepting a man, then he’s accepting I won’t have a biological heir. I can just live my life single and adopt a kid as my heir.”

Bozer gave his friend a sympathetic look, “Probably because the king believes you can’t rule on your own.”

Mac grunted, “If he would just talk to me maybe he would learn otherwise. Besides that's what I have you for, I won’t be alone.”

Bozer chuckled and opened his mouth to respond when there was a knock on the outer door to the entry room and Sam stepped in leading another figure. “Your highness, I have a coal delivery here for you.”

The sofa faced away from the door and Mac started to sit up to see and say, “I didn't call for-“ he broke off abruptly when he saw Jack standing behind Sam. Wide eyed and frozen he said quietly, “Jack?”

Things then turned into chaos for a moment. Sensing Mac's shock Sam instantly pulled her lightning blade and a crackle of electricity ran along it. The sound alerted Desi who rushed in, gun raised at Jack. Jack dropped the bag and gave a “Whoa, whoa, whoa” holding his hands up. Bozer had jumped to his feet and it took Mac an extra second to recover his senses and jump over the back of the sofa to try and calm things.

Sam glanced at her charge, “How do you know this man? Did you order this coal?”

Mac took a deep breath and glanced at Bozer, “No I didn't order the coal, but I met him in the city today. He's a friend you can put down your weapons.”

Behind him he heard Bozer say in surprise, “This is him?”

Mac put a hand to his face and with a pop said, “Yep.”

Jack still wide eyed said, “I came to return your bag. It gave me an excuse to see you again.”

Desi and Sam both lowered their weapons, but didn't put them away. Desi looked at Mac, “You said your bag was stolen.”

“I didn't want to bring attention to Jack, but he obviously did that himself.” Mac turned to Jack with a glare, “How the hell did you even get in here?”

“Well Riley and Abu helped.” He pulled the monkey from his hood and put it on his shoulder. Causing the two cautious guards to tense before Mac waved them to relax.

From the monkey Riley said, “It’s nice to see you again.”

Mac gave a little wave in its direction before sighing deeply and taking a step closer to Jack. He glanced at the other three people and one monkey in the room. “Uhm can you guys give us a minute? I need to talk to Jack.” He looked pointedly at his guards and continued, “I am safe with him. Sit here with Bozer and he will tell you the full story. Jack can you leave Abu here.” Mac turned and walked out of the room to a balcony.

Jack nodded, allowing Abu to jump down onto the ground and he followed Mac outside. They both stood in silence watching the lights of the palace in the night. Jack finally broke it by saying, “So you’re actually the prince?” Mac nodded still looking away at the view. “I guess I should have guessed that. I think Riley figured it out at some point when we got into the palace. Prince Angus MacGyver, Mac yeah there were a lot of signs I ignored on that one. Can you talk to me?”

Mac finally looked up, noticing the hurt in Jack’s eyes that made him feel even more terrible, “I am sorry Jack. I wanted to be a normal person for a day. Meeting you hadn’t been in my plans then everything else happened. Today was the best day I ever have had, but in the end, nothing can be done.”

Jack snorted- a little angry now, “You’re the prince for god’s sake. You’ll be king one day. If you want to be with a lowly guy like me, why the hell not?”

Mac shot back equally as heated, “Because there are laws. My father is still the king and he gets the last say. You are a thief, a common criminal.” Jack looked like that one hit him hard and Mac's next words lost some of the heat, “I am sorry, that sounded bad. I know you’re a better person, but my father would see you more simply. Then there is the whole court to think about. I need people to respect me one day. How can I do that if I just disregard a centuries old law and tradition? I can’t be that selfish.”

Jack sighed, “I guess I can understand that. Man, I am an idiot. I had this great idea to sneak in here and get your bag back to you and maybe we could hang out more. Find a way to at least get to know one another, but you are one of the most important people in the country and I am a nobody.”

Mac looked at him in surprise, “Jack you aren't a nobody. You’re better than the majority of the people I have to pretend are my friends.” Mac waved a hand back inside. “Those three in there are the only people I trust and actually like and all three of them were assigned to me. You are the first real person I have ever met through my own devices that I would call a friend. And Riley too. Then you risk yourself to sneak into the most secure building in the city just to see me. Do you know how good that makes me feel?”

Jack had to smile, “Well after meeting you I decided you were worth it. Also, you should know it was surprisingly easy to sneak in here. Just needed a bag of coal and a real uniform and papers from the coal house.”

Mac smiled too, finally starting to relax a little, “This whole place is magically warded. If you were planning to steal anything or hurt somebody the alarms would have gone off the instant you stepped through the doors.”

Jack looked at little startled before letting out a chuckle, “Huh.... I guess it’s a good thing that I only came to return something for once in my life.”

Mac started to laugh for real, leaning over to press against Jack, “It was stupid and reckless and also the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Can we try to be friends? I really don't want to lose you completely. I can get a set of transmitters and we can still talk. As much as it will hurt to not have more of you, I don't want you gone forever.”

Jack turned and put his hands on Mac’s shoulders to turn him, so that were face to face. Mac looked up at him, losing himself in his brown eyes. Jack reached up and brushed some stray hair out of his face before saying gently, “If your voice is all I can have, then I will take it. Not going to lie though, I am probably going to keep breaking in here since it was incredibly easy. At some point the guards are just going to know me and I can come and go as I please. Maybe get a real job here. You make me want to be better, to be something you could have without shame from the King and court.”

Mac instantly sagged wrapping his arms around Jack and pressing his face into his shoulder. Muffled by fabric he said, “I can accept that.”

Jack squeezed the younger man in his arms. It was a warm night with a slight breeze and Mac would have been content to stay like that forever. Eventually a thought struck him and he pulled back to look at Jack, “You know my father figured out I was gay somehow and got me a prince to court. That’s who came from the Matriarchy.”

Jack raised his eyebrows, “Is that so? Is he a good option? Should I be jealous?”

Mac chuckled, “Nothing to worry about with this one. He's not my type or the king type. It shows that my father is flexible though.” Mac let out a long sigh, “I somehow doubt if a prince will live up to my expectations.” Mac pulled back fully, wrapping his arms around himself looking towards the doors. “We should go back inside.”

Jack nodded and gave him a small smile, “I shouldn't keep you up. I am sure you have a lot to do in the morning.”

Mac shrugged as he pushed open the doors. He wanted to say that Jack could stay as long as he wanted, but he knew that it would be better for both of them to keep some distance.

Within the sitting room they found Desi and Sam standing with their backs to the door and Bozer was animatedly chatting with Riley through Abu. His conversation paused when Mac and Jack came back into the room and he looked over Mac closely. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary he said, “So I let the girls know everything. Had a nice talk with Riley too. Is everything good with you?”

Mac smiled to hide his actual emotions, “Yeah, everything is fine. Jacks about to head out and I will talk to you about it later.” He glanced at his guards who didn’t seem super happy at the moment and added, “All of you. I will talk to all of you later.”

Abu whirred as he moved out of his sitting position to get back onto Jack's shoulder. When he had settled there, he opened his mouth and Riley said, “It was nice meeting you all. I will make sure Jack doesn’t touch anything on the way out.”

Jack flicked the monkey’s head, “Not going to be a problem now that I know everything is magically warded.” He turned to Mac, “Your satchel is in the bottom of the coal bag. Sorry I had to hide it.” He paused looking at it, “That's a good bag, but I don't think I want to wait for the coal to be removed.” Jack smiled, “I will just have to come back for it tomorrow and also get that transmitter you promised.”

Mac rolled his eyes, but he wasn't going to say no. He walked over to a set of stationary laying nearby and wrote a quick note with a seal from his signet ring. He handed it to jack, “That will legitimately get you past the guards tomorrow. Riley too, if she wants to come see the palace in person.”

Jack took it grinning, “No fun in that, but thank you. See you tomorrow.”

The two women stepped aside to let Jack out. He paused for a moment in the open door to turn back and give a wave, still keeping his big grin on his face. Mac smiled and waved back as the door was shut. At the click of the latch catching Mac instantly dropped back onto the sofa with a groan.

Sam chuckled, “You have it bad for that one.”

Mac winced, “Is it that obvious?”

“Yes” said all three of the other people in the room.

“Crap......”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do I do romance? I really try to make their reactions realistic, but this is a fairy tail, so everything is sped up a bit. I have one more coming right after this, so give me a few more minutes and it will be up too.


	9. A Diamond in the Rough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the only chapter in the whole story not written from Mac or Jack's perspective. Surprise! Its Murdoch. He needed a chapter to be an extra creep.
> 
> WARNING: Stalking

“Your highness I just don't see why I can’t be a possibility. You have let the prince say no to countless potential alliances already and we have enemies we need to be ready for.” Murdoch was getting annoyed at this point. His influence spell must be wearing thin again, but he just didn't have the time make another one. Not as he was trying to break into the fabled clock tower.

King James didn't even look up from the work he was doing on his desk, “We are in a time of peace there is no rush to form alliances. I already told you all this. The law states that the prince must marry royalty. Besides even if there wasn't a law my son dislikes you and he has a say in who he marries. He would never agree.” The King finally looked up, “You must know your place and that will not climb further than where you are. I have work to do, you are dismissed.”

Murdoch bowed low, “Of course your majesty, I apologize for speaking out of turn. I will see you in court tomorrow.”

King James was already looking back at his papers, so Murdoch slipped out the door. He had to pause on the other side to settle his rage.

 _Know your place? That impossible old fool,_ he thought, _if I could marry the prince then I wouldn’t have to try so hard to get into the damn clock tower._

He took a deep breath and started back to his quarters, his face never showing what was inside his mind. He wanted power and the Kingdom would give him that. He had spent ten years worming his way into the court starting with murdering the queen to cause a little chaos. Today had been a pleasant surprise to learn that little prince Angus was gay and that the dear king would let him court another prince. That information Murdoch had tried to push further, but the old fool was sticking to the tradition of only having another royal on the throne.

His thoughts went back to the tower as he strode down the hall with his automaton guards, he would never trust human guards to protect him. It was all for show anyways, he was the most powerful mage on this side of the great sea. His power was nothing compared to the ancients though and that was why he needed to get into the tower. It had been a month since he had found the riddle. “Only a diamond in the rough can enter and escape alive.” He had found the door the year before, but no one he tried to send in was worthy and never came out. He would never try himself- he was too important for such a perilous task, but who could be this diamond in the rough?

His gaze wondered around the people in the halls looking for any clue. People immediately bowed and went silent when he passed. _Just like they should_ , he thought with a smirk. One caught his eye and made Murdoch scowl, a plain looking coal boy following a guard. The man turned his face down quickly, but his image stuck in his head.

 _Coal is a filthy black lump, but it turns into a diamond when subjected to enough force,_ Murdoch let this train of thought go a while since he had no other ideas at that moment. _A commoner pushed hard enough to shine like a diamond. Torture perhaps would do it. I do enjoy watching people scream._

Murdoch arrived back in his quarters and decided to take a drink on the balcony while he contemplated this idea further. Sitting back in his usual spot he pushed a little magic into his monocle, so he could clearly see the balcony across the palace. His sweet Angus wasn't out at the moment, but the night was young and most nights he would make an appearance. He started humming an old tune, it always seemed to settle his mind. Murdoch loved his view, he had purposefully chosen these quarters for it and he was sure if Angus knew he could see him, he would never go outside, but so far he was as naive as ever.

Not even ten minutes later Murdoch was rewarded with his prize as the prince stepped out onto is balcony. Murdoch perked up when another man followed him out who wasn't the dark-skinned duke.

“Isn't that curious? It looks like the coal boy from the hallway.” He said to himself and waved to one of his autos, “Do a scan on that one’s face. I want to know anything I can about him.”

The automaton’s eyes glowed brightly as it started running the distant face through the brain network. While waiting Murdoch watched the two. They obviously knew each other and were fighting about something. He wondered where they had met since the prince was never to leave the palace. Perhaps a regular coal delivery.

Murdoch's grin grew as he watched the argument settle and Angus lean over onto the other man. That wasn't the end though they turned towards each other and embraced for a rather long time in Murdoch's opinion. He wasn't jealous of the other man; he honestly couldn’t care less if Angus ever showed him affection. In the end he would be his and that's what mattered.

The auto beeped that it was done and Murdoch turned his eyes away from the show. He wanted information on this mystery coal man, “Report.”

In the mechanical voice of autos, it gave its report, “Name: Jack Dalton. Age: in 20s. Address: unknown. Wanted for multiple counts of pickpocketing and theft. Video today of subject and unknown accomplice sending 4 automaton city guards offline for exactly 4 minutes and 37 seconds. Shall I report this sighting?”

Murdoch thought about it, “No don’t report. I will handle it myself. A thief that finds his way into the sweet little Angus’s arms.” He smiled, slow and menacing, “If that's not a diamond in the rough then I don't know what is.”

Murdoch grabbed up his staff and left his quarters. His autos following without any command. The halls were mostly empty, at this point it was when most of the palace went to sleep. He stopped at an intersection near the prince's quarters and waited. He imagined what the prince could be doing with his thief and had to smile imagining the prince doing the same with him. His favor of the prince wasn't for the power it would get him, he could get that other ways. He wanted the prince for his body and his mind.

He didn’t have to wait long for a voice to come down the halls, “-believe it. What am I supposed to do now?” there was a muffled response that Murdoch couldn't make out before the male voice continued getting louder with each step, “Of course I am coming back tomorrow. I just-“

The man cut off abruptly when he rounded the corner coming face to face with Murdoch. Murdoch let a slow grin spread across him face and watched Jack visibly swallow, but kept his mouth shut. _He is a smart man_ , thought Murdoch, _waiting to see what I will say before speaking._

Murdoch gave a slight wave and his guards moved in to flank Jack. Then he spoke, “Imagine my surprise when I see our dear prince intimate with a coal boy, so naturally I looked into you.” Jack wasn’t quite able to hide the surprise on his face, “Jack Dalton, a well-known thief and pickpocket in the lower ring. Now that was curious.”

Murdoch found Jack interesting, he had an expressive face, but was also very good at hiding his emotions behind others. He saw the trace of fear, but it was quickly hidden behind anger. When Jack spoke there was a slight quiver, but it was impossible for Murdoch to tell if it was from the fear or anger, “So you know who I am, but that doesn't explain why you were spying on Mac,” Jack shook his head, “I mean, Prince Angus. It also doesn't explain why you are here instead of just some guards.”

Murdoch’s grin didn't fade, “You see I am rather fond of the sweet little prince and I value his judgement. I have a task that only a special kind of person can accomplish and I believe that is you.”

Jack really didn't look happy at Murdoch’s words and his response confirmed it, “I don’t care who you are. I won't work for somebody that spies on my friends.”

Murdoch laughed, “You really have no idea what I am capable of. Its refreshing meeting somebody as naive as you are. The truth is I am not giving you a choice.” Murdoch raised his staff and Jack took it as a signal to the guards and turned their way, “You just proved my point looking at the wrong threat.”

Jack whipped back around and uttered a “What?” before Murdoch’s staff flashed and Jack crumpled to the ground unconscious.

Murdoch chuckled down at the man, “They just never expect the staff.” He looked at his guards and waved as he turned back to his rooms. Over his shoulder he said, “Take him to my vessel; I will deal with him tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that. Its interesting to write the villain. This is the last I have edited right now and I don't know if we will have time to edit more before I go back to my mostly internet dead zone. If another doesn't pop up in the next few hours, sorry about that cliff hanger. I will get more up as soon as I can.


	10. I Don't Recommend Magical Sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Back on wifi, so have some more. Big thank you to my beta firefly734 for continuing to read this even though she has never watched MacGyver (I am working on correcting that).

Jack woke suddenly and flinched as his eyes focused on the glowing ruby eyes of a snake. He would have jumped away but he found himself sitting against a wall with his arms were chained above him. After a moment his brain caught up and he found that it wasn’t a real snake, but the head of a staff. Unfortunately, a familiar one that led to an equally familiar wickedly grinning man.

Jack remembered the confrontation in the hall, but at that very moment the only thing that he could think was, W _ell shit._ He decided his best course of action was to stay silent and glare at the other man. He hadn’t liked the Grand Vizier when he got his first glance at him in the hall and that opinion just kept falling. Jack didn't care that he was some important figure in his country; any man that watched another, and from childhood as far as Jack could tell, was not the kind of person that Jack could get along with.

The Vizier pulled back slightly and looked at Jack with a curious look, “You still show rage over fear, even now that you know I can use magic. You are a curious man, Jack Dalton. I still prefer Angus, but you could be fun for a while.” The older man gave a dramatic sigh and Jack had to keep himself from rolling his eyes, “Alas, I need you to do my task and I cannot have my fun breaking you.”

Jack couldn't contain himself any longer and gave the man a very sarcastic, “Gee thanks, sure glad I can only help while fully functioning.” He wasn't sure what Murdoch wanted from him and he couldn’t care less. He didn’t want to help the man.

Murdoch chuckled, “You are fun, lots of spirit, I can see why Angus likes you. Now, at the moment I am just here to wake you; we will leave this evening when my court duties are over. Pity you won't get to use this little note for another rendezvous with the prince.” He held up the letter that Jack had gotten from Mac -its seal had been broken. Then, to Jack’s surprise, it caught fire and burned to nothing. _There haven’t been full-blow mages in this country since I don’t know when, but it’s looking more and more like this man is one. I am going to have to be cautious,_ Jack thought, trying to not show his surprise.

Jack had to ignore the pang that hit his chest at realizing he had wouldn't make his meeting with Mac. He couldn’t let this man know his feelings, he would just take them and twist them back to bite him. Instead he focused on something else trying to look bored and unfazed as he asked, “Where's my monkey?”

Murdoch paused and raised an eyebrow, “The monkey is more important than the prince? Well if you must know it’s in the corner with the rest of your things. I need you for your thieving skills, among other things, so all your things are there and intact. I will release you when we get moving later. Not like you can escape an airship once we have left the dock.”

That made Jack freeze. He had dreamed of being on airships and here he was on one and hadn’t even known it. Something must have shown on his face as Murdoch said, “Don't worry, I will give you the grand tour later. It’s a state-of-the-art ship, we have a way to travel and we will go in style. Well ta ta for now. Enjoy your day!”

Murdoch turned and practically bounced out the door. Jack thought he was truly an odd and terrifying person. He heard the click of the door locking from the outside and thumped his head back against the wood behind him.

“Well this is a real pickle I’ve found myself in,” he muttered to himself.

He jumped when a very familiar voice called quietly from the corner, “Jack!”

“Riley? Abu is still running?”

There was a pause, “Well sort of. Somebody, I assume one of the autos, shut down Abu’s body and autonomous brain, but the video and sound relays are separately powered and they missed it. I can't see anything at the moment since I am facing a wall, but I have been able to hear the whole time.”

Jack took a deep breath, at least they had that, “Anything important happen?”

Another pause, “Well no, not really. The autos brought you to the ship removed everything and locked you up. Abu was too tangled to get free and he got shut down. I tried figuring out what ship you’re on, but have had no luck. I fell asleep at some point and was woken up at the same time as you. It’s 7 in the morning if you’re curious. He kept you magically asleep all night.”

“And I feel like I haven’t slept for days. I do not recommend magical sleep.” Jack said trying to lighten the mood.

It worked as he heard Riley chuckle before speaking again, “Noted. I was going to see if I could get to the royal docks today or contact Wilt. I will find a way to get you out of this.”

Jack shook his head forgetting for a moment that she couldn’t see him, “No! Just sit back and observe for now. Mac and his people shouldn't be a part of this. He's better off without me anyways.”

“Jack that’s not-“

Jack cut her off, “No he's the prince and needs to be with somebody better than me. We met yesterday; we are still basically strangers. I will not put him in danger to save me. You must have heard how that man talked about him. Besides I can figure out a way to get out of this.”

He barely heard the sigh that followed that, “Jack, I get the thing with Mac, you are right we shouldn’t get them involved. But I can still help. Just because you try to keep me off the streets, doesn't mean I don't have the same skills as you. You can’t always protect me sometimes I need to protect you....” she paused mid rant and her tone changed when she continued, “Or are you actually considering going through with this job?”

Jack winced, Riley knew him too well, “I don’t want to do a job for this guy, but whatever it is must be important and it would be satisfying to keep it from him. It could also be worth a lot. If I play along until I can get my hands on it, we could be set. Think about it, if it’s enough I could go to flight school and you could go to that enchanting school you always mention. Got to give it a chance.”

There was a long pause and Jack almost opened his mouth to keep talking when Riley responded, “Fine we play along, but if this gets too dangerous or it turns out that the score isn't big enough, I will move heaven and earth to get you out of there. We are in this together.”

“Agreed. Now if you don’t mind, for sleeping all night I am really tired and I think I have at least 6 hours before he comes back, so I want to get some sleep. I suggest that you do the same. We might have a long night ahead of us.” Jack shifted around trying to find the most comfortable position with his arms stuck above his head.

“Alright I am keeping Abu’s transmitter next to me. The moment they return I will be right there with you.”

Jack smiled and softly said, “Thanks, Riley.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it. I will post a couple more chapters in the next 24 hours, so keep an eye out!


	11. I'm Flying!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When your beta is bored and stuck on a bus edited chapters come much faster. Here's another with Jack and Murdoch. Enjoy!

When Jack woke from his nap he sat around in silence for a while thinking. He didn't want to wake Riley if she was still sleeping, but had no idea how long he had been out.

He was uncomfortable; He had lost feeling in his hands and his shoulders hurt from being in an upward position for so long. He shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position to sit in. Eventually he gave up and settled back against the wall. He wished he had lock picks or anything similar hidden on his person, but those tools were with his jacket in the corner. He really needed a distraction, so quietly he said, “Riley are you awake?”

He instantly heard a chuckle, “Yeah I’ve been awake. I heard you moving around. Your silence lasted longer than I thought it would.”

“Thanks. What time is it?”

“About 3 o’clock. You slept a pretty long time.” Jack could hear her rummaging around, probably in her lab.

Jack stayed silent for a minute then said, “When do you think court is over?”

Riley laughed, “I don’t know, probably 4 or 5, then they likely eat. You bored?”

Jack groaned, “Not so much bored as uncomfortable and hungry. Please distract me.”

“You were always better at the distractions, tell me one of your stories. Those always get your mind off of things.” Riley sounded distracted, but Jack could work with her request.

He thought for a moment, “Oh have I ever told you about the time with the heiress and the fake spider. It was so great, so it all started with the spider........”

* * *

After about a dozen stories and some back and forth bickering later Jack was still uncomfortable and still hungry, but he could hear people moving around above him now and he went quiet, he didn’t want to draw attention to Riley.

It was maybe ten minutes later that he heard the clanking of the steam engine firing up, then the whole vessel jolted as it started to move. Jack couldn't help the smile that spread across his face and his heart rate sped up. Of course, the whole experience would be better if he was up on the deck and not chained below it.

He thankfully didn't have to wait long for a man he hadn't yet seen to come and unlock the door. He was a short stocky man with a seemingly permanent scowl. His voice wasn’t much better, sounding like he gargled gravel when he said, “The Grand Vizier says for you to join him up top.”

The man moved to unlock the shackles and Jack with a cheery smile asked, “Will there be food up top? I’m starving.” The only reaction that got him was the man slowly glancing down at him before he moved to the other shackle. Jack’s smile faded slightly and he muttered, “Alright, tough crowd.”

The man moved back towards the door when the shackles were off. Jack took his time shaking out his arms and making sure his stiff legs would hold him before pushing off the wall and grabbing his jacket and Abu from the corner. The man’s face never changed, so Jack had no way to know if there was a problem with his slow actions.

With his jacket back on and mostly lifeless monkey in hand he followed the forever scowling man up through the ship to the deck. Jack held off turning Abu back on at that point. He didn't want to inadvertently piss off his captor. The ship was certainly nice. Jack had studied a great deal of air ship plan's and books and could tell this was of the smaller private class of ships, but was made with high quality wood and shining brass.

Jack took a deep breath as they emerged onto the deck; the sun was still up and off to the left was the ocean glittering in the afternoon light. They were moving at a good speed for a dirigible and the breeze felt amazing. Jack savored the moment and thought, _finally I get to experience flight, this is fantastic._

The moment was killed when he spotted Murdoch -Jack would not call him the Grand Vizier- sitting near the center of the deck. There was another chair next to him and a plate of fruit sitting on a small table between them. Once again Murdoch was giving him one of those creepy smiles while slowly popping grapes into his mouth.

Murdoch motioned to the other chair, “Please sit and enjoy some fruit, you must be starving at this point.” From the look on his face he seemed happy that Jack had to suffer a little.

Jack tentatively sat on the other chair, but didn't immediately reach for any fruit, instead he asked, “May I turn my monkey back on, sir?” he wasn't happy about saying the sir, but he would get more out of the man if he was in a good mood.

Murdoch raised his eyebrows, “You and that monkey. What does it do?”

Jack looked down at Abu, “Uhm be a monkey? It just has an autonomous brain core programmed for monkey.”

Murdoch waved uninterested, “Do what you want. If it helps you get what I need, I don't really care.”

Jack nodded and pulled Abu’s key from his pocket turning it a few times in the hole on his back, kick starting the magic drivers and Abu jumped to life with a shake. He instantly jumped off Jack's lap and started to explore like a curious monkey would. He wasn't sure if Riley was controlling it or letting it actually be monkey, but at that point it didn't really matter. Murdoch watched Abu move around with mild interest, but said nothing.

Jack finally grabbed an apple from the plate, taking a bite and fully swallowing before asking, “So where are we going?”

To Jack,s surprised Murdoch instantly responded, “Have you ever heard of the fabled Clock Tower of Ghadi?” Jack nodded, almost everyone knew the stories about the magic clock tower. It just seemed to grow up out of an isolated part of the desert that stretched to the north east of Core City. He had even seen a picture of it before, it was a narrow spire shooting towards the sky with a round clock face about a hundred feet in the air. No one knew where it came from or how it stayed powered but it had been there for hundreds of years. Some said thousands, but those were often thwarted when reminded that the clock was only invented around six hundred years ago.

Murdoch continued, “Good less to explain. I have been looking for an artifact and through intense searching found it lies with the tower. Your job will be to get it out.”

Jack was a bit confused by that and took a few more bites of apple while he thought it through before saying, “I get that the tower is magical, but the spire is maybe shoulder width at the base. Not sure why you need a thief.”

Murdoch smiled seeming to enjoy holding information over other people. He took a moment to respond, “I should have phrased it better. The artifact isn’t within the tower.” He paused for what Jack figure was his attempt to add drama. Really it was just annoying, “It's under the clock tower. I discovered the door a year ago and so far have had little luck getting in, that's where you come it. It takes a special kind of person to enter and retrieve the artifact.”

Jack glanced over at Abu, he really wished he could talk to Riley right now, but Abu was still being a monkey, so he assumed Riley saw nothing wrong with the idea at that point. Jack took a deep breath, in for a copper in for a silver as they say. He asked, “So what’s the artifact I am looking for?”

“This,” Murdoch said as he pulled out holo cube like Riley’s and it projected an object. To Jack it was a weird looking teapot, probably from some other land as the design wasn't familiar to him. He did recognize that it was solid gold. Abu jumped up on Jack’s shoulder and reached out as if to try and touch the hologram. Jack stopped him, smacking the hand away.

Jack studied the holo and made sure he knew exactly what it looked like. Then he nodded and said, “I can get that, though what’s in it for me.”

Murdoch continued to smile and put the cube back in his pocket, “I am glad you are willing to work with me now.”

Jack shrugged, “I had a lot of time to think in the brig. Still, I want something for doing this.”

Murdoch nodded and his quick, “Of course”, had Jack's alarm bells going off. Murdoch continued, “I will pay you handsomely. So much that even you could impress the prince.” Jack hated the insinuation that Jack couldn't impress Mac on his own. It wasn't Mac he needed to impress, it was the rest of the court, specifically the king, but Jack wasn’t going to correct him.

Jack nodded his agreement and fell silent grabbing another piece of fruit at random. There must be some catch since at this point it seemed fairly easy. The hardest part Jack could see would be sneaking this artifact away and getting back to core city from the desert. They had enough saved up that Riley could probably pay a small vessel to come get him. They would have to talk when they were alone in whatever was under the clock tower.

From his seated position he almost missed the glint on the horizon, but stood and moved to the front railing to get a closer look. He saw the large clock face practically floating in the sky and knew they had reached their destination. It took a day to get there on land with horses, but an hour on a ship was all it took. Jack really loved flying. The ship was gliding forward a little under the height of the clock and Jack watched as they slowly sunk as they got closer to the tower. The engine stopped and anchor ropes were dropped when they were about fifty feet from the tower and only around fifteen off the ground.

Murdoch had stood without Jack realizing and made Jack jump when he said very close to him, “Marvelous isn’t it. The ancient mages really knew how to add style to their architecture.” The man sighed but turned away without waiting for a response, continuing over his shoulder, “Come along now, the door opens with the setting sun.”

With Abu on his shoulder he followed Murdoch down the long gang plank and over to the tower where they both stopped. Murdoch glanced at the sun, shrugged and looked back at the tower. He raised his staff and started to mutter some words in an unknown language. Jack at this point kept his mouth shut and just waited to see what was going to happen. It didn't take long for the ground to start shaking and Jack watched with wide eyes as the tower seemed to lift itself further out of the ground and some of the desert sand started flowing into a now gaping doorway. Jack took a step closer to look inside and had to step back and look at the outside again. There was a fairly steep slope into the tower but the chamber inside was definitely larger than it should be from the outside.

Murdoch grabbed his arm and Jack had to fight the urge to shake him off. Murdoch said into Jack’s ear, really for no reason Jack could see considering they were the only two that had gotten of the ship, “This is where we part ways. A warning to you: don’t touch anything, but the artifact. The rest is there to trick the unworthy.”

Jack swallowed, easing his arm out of the other man’s grip and taking a step away as he said, “Riiiiight, thanks for the tip.”

He stepped up to the doorway and looked down the sandy slope seeing if there was an easy way down only to get pushed from behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens, the next will be back to Mac. Then a bit of Jack for a while.
> 
> Fun facts: The mechanized clock was invented in the 1300s (I am saying that this world is around the late 1800s in its timeline) and Ghadi is the Nepali word for clock cause that's how imaginative I am right now :)


	12. What If......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Firefly734 for being beta!

Mac once again felt eyes on him. This was not unusual, being the sole prince of a kingdom, but the gaze felt unclean and uncomfortably familiar. He glanced up from his plate and briefly caught Murdoch's eye. The man was grinning more than usual today and there was an odd look in his eyes that was like he knew something no one else did and was incredibly pleased about it.

Mac quickly looked away and turned to Bozer who was eating dinner next to him. He whispered, “Does Murdoch seem different to you today? He seems to be watching me more than usual and smiling a lot.”

Bozer hummed and looked past Mac to see Murdoch down the table, “He has been wearing his creepy grin most of the day.” He shuddered slightly and turned back to Mac, “At least court it over and we can just get away to our rooms and not deal with him any longer. I hate court days; they are so long. Besides a certain someone should be here soon.” Bozer had his own grin on his face, but his was friendly and kind.

Mac gave a small smile, “I hope soon. It will be a good end of the day.” He glanced at his friend’s plate and saw it was empty, “We should get going.” It wasn’t an official dinner, just a court day, so they could thankfully leave without waiting for the king.

Bozer looked down at his friends only half eaten plate and crossed his arms, “You have barely eaten.”

Mac studied his food; he really wasn’t hungry. This always happened when he was too excited or worried about something. He knew his friend wouldn't let him leave until more food was eaten though, so he quickly shoved a few more spoonfuls into his mouth. When there was less than a quarter left on his plate, he looked at Bozer, “Happy now? Can we go?”

Bozer pursed his lips staring at his friend and the plate still containing food, eventually he said, “Oh alright, fine. Come on.”

They both rose gave a customary bow to the king, even though he didn’t even glance at them, and headed out of the dinning room. Desi and Sam fell in behind them when they made it out the door. Mac was in his own head, but Bozer never liked silence, so he started talking, “So when do you think your man is going to show up?”

Mac almost stopped walking, “He is not my man. He is my friend, that is all.”

He heard a snort from behind him and Sam said, “So you don't want to kiss him?”

Then Desi added, “Or maybe take a tumble into bed?”

Mac turned and looked at them while his face turned red. His guards were normally more subdued than this when in the halls, but from the friendly smiles and the wink from Desi he knew they were just trying to fluster him to get his mind off his worries. They really were a good pair.

Mac sighed and turned back forward, “Even if I wanted to do those **things,** we agreed to just be friends. No point in starting a scandal. I have too many other things to worry about. Its just nice to have a friend that knows the outside world.”

Bozer patted him all the shoulder, “I get it. And we will all support you in whatever you decide.”

There were two sounds of agreement from behind them and Mac had to let out another breath and quietly asked, “Any ideas how I could actually court a commoner?”

Bozer shrugged, “Magically make him a prince?”

Mac shook his head, but had to smile, “Was looking for a serious answer, but thanks.”

Desi gave a noncommittal grunt and said, “I would just do it. Screw tradition and the other nobles.”

Bozer glanced back with his eyebrows scrunched together, “I really wonder sometimes how you successfully got onto this position without ever being thrown in the dungeon.”

Desi glared at him and Sam answered, “It’s because her partner has more finesse and tact.”

Mac had to smile at his guard duo, “It definitely also helps that you two were some of the top fighters in the academy.”

Desi preened a little at that, “Why thank you, your highness. I hope you aren't saying that to get us to go easy on you in our next training session.”

Mac’s smile grew, but he was still turned away from them, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

That got all his friends to laugh. He might joke about it, but he really did love that they trained him. He liked being able to defend himself and if the time came as king that they had to go to war he wanted to be able to stand with his army not behind it. Most of the nobility didn’t know he could fight and he was happy to keep it like that. He was fairly certain that his father knew, but that was only because he seemed to know everything that went on in the palace, especially when it came to Mac. He never touched guns though. They were just too unpredictable and caused too much damage. He would rather subdue foes in nonlethal ways and he personally thought he was pretty good at it.

At that point they had reached their quarters; Bozer’s were technically down the hall and Sam and Desi had small apartments in another part of the palace, but they were all at Mac’s quarters most of the time, so it was easier to think of them as theirs. Mac only claimed his work shop and bedroom as personal spaces. The common rooms his friends could be in whenever they wanted.

He glanced at his guards about to ask if they wanted to come in, but before he could ask Sam shook her head and said, “We will stay out here and wait for your guests.”

Mac nodded and followed Bozer into his sitting room. Bozer bounced to his chair and picked up the lump of clay he left there yesterday. Mac stood there debating if he wanted to sit and hang out with Bozer for a while or if he wanted to hide in his workshop. Bozer made the choice for him when he asked, “Do you think Riley will actually come with Jack? I would love to meet her not through a monkey.”

Mac raised his eyebrows as he sat down, “Last time you asked about a girl was when you were falling all over yourself trying to impress the Countess Madeline. That didn’t end well. Should I be worried?”

Bozer waved a hand around, “I learned my lesson on that one. Riley was just very interesting to talk with and I don't know, the way you described her makes me think she’s my type.”

Mac chuckled, “Yeah she probably is. We will just have to wait and see.”

Bozer just gave a hum in response focusing on his clay. Realizing this conversation wasn't actually going to progress further, Mac stood up and went into his workshop to waste time.

* * *

Satisfied with the progress he had made on his current project he glanced at the clock and was surprised to see it have been three hours. A glance out the window confirmed that dusk had fallen and the world was growing dark. It wasn't uncommon for Mac to lose hours in his workshop when he got into a project, but he had expected Jack to be there before it got dark. There was no reason for him to be sneaky. _Maybe everyone decided not to disturb me,_ he thought to himself and he went back into his common room.

The room was silent and Bozer was no longer there. Mac kept telling himself that it meant nothing, Bozer might have taken them on a tour or something. He opened his front door and his guards stood from their seats in the entrance hall.

Mac looked between them, “Uhm, have Jack and Riley shown up?” they both silently shook their heads, “Oh.... where did Bozer go?”

Mac was really trying to stay calm and casual at that moment and was really unsure if it was working. Sam responded in her quiet calm way, “He went out to find tea about twenty minutes ago. Said you were deep in a project.”

Mac nodded, Bozer and him had a habit of going and doing their own things instead of making servants do it. Especially that time in the evening when most were heading to bed. Mac took a deep steadying breath ignoring the little voice in his head and said, “I will just wait inside then.”

He quickly slipped inside, but didn’t miss the look of sympathy that passed between his two guards. He sat down on his sofa and looked at Jack’s bag sitting on the coffee table waiting for him too come back. He had to stand up again and start pacing, finally letting the voice take over thoughts, _What if he was lying yesterday? What if by being a prince I scared him off and he was just being nice yesterday? But why did he leave his bag? What if something happened to him? Or to Riley? Maybe I need to go send someone to their house. Though I doubt anyone would get in._

His stream of thoughts was interrupted by Bozer’s voice, “Okay, brother, thought tea would be a good idea, but I’m seeing you don’t need the caffeine right now.” He was standing by the door holding a tray with a pot and some cups on it. The expression on Bozer’s face told Mac that he was spiraling and he sat down on the sofa again. This time ignoring the bag. Bozer put the tray down than looked at his friend, “So are you going to tell me what's running through that big head of yours?”

Mac looked over at him and gave a small smile, “What ifs mostly. I really thought Jack would come before dark tonight.”

Bozer shrugged and poured them both some tea, “The night is young and you barely know Jack, so he could like sneaking around in the dark.”

Mac nodded, “You’re probably right. I need to relax. I think having a friend not assigned to me, no offence”-Bozer just shrugged they had gotten past that a long time ago- “It’s really freaking me out. What if I do something wrong? Or he can’t handle me being a prince?”

Bozer pressed a cup into Mac’s hands and put a hand on Mac’s wrist, “Mac, you need to stop worrying. Even if I wasn’t made your playmate as a kid, I think I would still be friends with you. You are a great person and if you being a prince didn't send him running last night its not going to now. So, let’s just sit back drink some tea and wait.”

They did just that. They talked a while and Bozer did a fairly good job distracting him. Desi and Sam even came in and had some tea when the night guards showed up. Mac didn't know how much time had passed, but at some point, he had laid down on the sofa with a book and nodded off. None of his friends decided to wake him and he woke the next morning still on the sofa with a blanket and a heavy heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I have to go back to my mostly internet dead zone and I don't know when the next chapters will be up, but hopefully by the end of the February there will be more chapters.


	13. A C.A.R.F.P.E.T.?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back again! Its a holiday in in Nepal tomorrow, so here we are with WiFi again to celebrate. Thank you firefly734 for continuing to stick with me and thank you everyone that is commenting and giving kudos it means the world to me.

Jack landed in a heap at the bottom of the slope with sand in his mouth, he spat it out and yelled up, “Seriously!”

There was amusement in the voice above him and Jack could just about hear the shrug when Murdoch said, “You were taking too long. Now go get the artifact.”

Under his breath Jack mimicked, “Go get the artifact.” He huffed dusting himself off, “He might be the biggest ass I have ever met.”

He started to walk down the chamber, realizing it was actually more of a large hallway with a door at the other end. About halfway down Abu jumped off his shoulder and ran ahead of him. Jack yelled, “You should stay close, we don’t know what traps are in this place.”

Abu stopped, looked back and cocked its head, then ran back and climbed back on Jack’s shoulder. Jack pulled his head back to look at him, “Uhm, Riley you’re really getting into this monkey thing, but I don't think the guy can see us anymore.”

It looked right back, opened its mouth and instead of Riley’s voice it made a monkey noise. Jack was starting to get a little worried, “Come on, Riley. This ain’t funny.” More monkey noises this time with a belly scratch. Jack sagged slightly, “Well, shit.” He looked around and had a small epiphany, “This is a magical place made by equally magical people. Of course it blocks magical signals. Well damn, I guess it really is just me and a monkey.” Abu gave an agreeable noise and bobbed its head. Jack sighed, “Let’s hope Riley pre-programmed you with enough commands. Can’t turn you off in case Riley gets the signal back.” He gave the mechanical monkey a hard look, “Now you stay near me and touch nothing.” Abu put his hands on his head; Jack decided to take that as an affirmative.

Turning back to the task at hand, Jack walked to the end of the hall and pondered the door. Nothing looked special about it, but that probably meant nothing. Taking a deep breath, he tentatively reached out, taking hold of the handle and he froze- as in every single muscle in his body instantly stopped responding to him.

A deep booming voice sounded from all around him or it could have been just inside his head, “Who are you?”

His mouth opened and words came out without him telling them to, “I am the thief, Jack Dalton.” In his head he thought, _Why am I telling this crazy voice that?!_

The voice responded, “Who do you steal from?”

Terrified, still with no control Jack responded, “Only from those that can afford it.”

The voice was getting quieter, “What is done with the money?”

Jack equally quietly responded, “It's used to feed us. The street kids of Core City.”

The voice responded almost feminine now with a melodious quality, “You may pass.”

The handle disappeared from Jack’s hand along with the rest of the door and he dropped to his knees shaking. The door made him tell the truth and he had a feeling that if he had had the wrong truths to give, he would have been dead. This just got a lot more dangerous than he thought it would be. He was going to finish it though. He had to, so he took a deep breath and got back to his feet.

Through the doorway was a huge cave filled with more gold and jewels than he had ever seen. Among all the glittering things were also simple clockwork items that seemed to be powered more by magic than they were mechanics. There was a soft ticking and clicking filling the air and Jack had to stand there open mouthed for a second and take it all in. He muttered to himself, “How the hell am I supposed to find one little thing in all of this?”

Abu, who was already on the ground after the door incident, ran over to the first pile of treasure and was reaching out when Jack snapped out of it and scooped him up. He held him in front of his face and firmly said, “No touching anything. I don’t know if Murdoch told us the truth, but I am not going to push my luck.”

If a mechanical monkey could pout this would be the expression that it made, but it climbed back onto Jack's shoulder. Jack took a deep breath and started down what looked like a path through the haphazard rock fixtures that made up the cavern. He could feel the urge to touch everything that he was sure had affected Abu’s little magical brain. He shook it off and kept going.

He was staring curiously at some little contraption with balls on long sticks spinning around each other. It looked like the planet clock things that astronomers claimed showed how the planets moved, but this one had more balls and they were moving in different ways than the ones he had seen before. Then something touched his leg, making him flail and fall into one of the piles of treasure, sending Abu tumbling across the ground. He instantly pushed his way up holding up his hands, but nothing seemed to happen. Apparently accidentally touching the treasure didn't trigger anything bad. Abu sat on the ground looking annoyed, but he wasn't going for any treasure at that moment, so Jack let him be.

Jack took a deep breath and turned to see what touched him. He cocked his head in confusion. He really had no idea what he was looking at. There was a big boulder that looked like it had fallen on a pile of treasure and there were a bunch of little bronze hexagonal discs flying around in the air around it. They kept pulling close to him then zipping back to the boulder, no hexagon ever getting more than six inches from another.

Jack pondered the movement then realized some of the hexagons must be trapped under the rock. He tentatively took a step closer and said, “Hey little guys, do you need help?”

They stopped their movement and as a swarm bobbed up and down as if to nod. Jack paused again, “Huh, you have brains.”

The swarm shook then formed a one. Jack rephrased, “You have one brain,” it did the nodding thing again, “You are one entity made of a bunch of small pieces.” More of the rapid bobbing, “Alright I can work with that let’s see if I can get the rest of you free.”

Jack glanced down at Abu, but he still seemed content to sit and watch. The hexagons seemed to quiver with excitement as Jack came and attempted to lift the boulder. He had to reposition a couple times, then with the help of the swarm finally lifted it less than an inch, but it was enough for a few of the discs to shoot out. Then the whole swarm started flying around the cavern at rapid speed.

Jack had to smile, whatever it was it was really cool and he murmured, “What in the world are you?”

It seemed to also have excellent hearing and stopped in front of Jack. It quickly shifted though a bunch of words showing only parts at a time and Jack read them out loud in hopes that would make them easier to figure out, “Com-pact auto-nom-ous reco-mbin-ant for pers-onal enjo-yable tra-vel. Well that's a mouthful how about......” he thought over the words. “CARFPET?”

The swarm spelled it out then dropped the F. Jack was slightly shocked looking at the letters, “Carpet! Holy crap, you’re a magic carpet. I have heard so many ancient tales about you guys. For some reason I thought you would be more a carpet and less a swarm of hexagons, but I am not complaining. It's a pleasure to meet you, Carpet.”

It did a kind of dance in the air, swirled around Jack, then picked up Abu from his spot on the ground. Abu seemed a little startled, but also enjoying the time in the sky. Jack smiled and watched, wishing Riley and Mac were here, they would probably love this marvel of magic and mechanics.

Eventually it calmed down and set Abu back on Jack’s shoulder. He chittered a little and Carpet gave him a pat on the head. They apparently had become fast friends on their little flight. Jack contemplated the magic carpet as it flew around. He then called, “Hey, Carpet. I am looking for a teapot looking thing. Do you think you could help?”

It flew up a large stalagmite and swirled around the top. Jack let out a little “oh” because right on top was the teapot in question. He was about to ask Carpet to help him up to it when it flew off and vanished somewhere into the cave. Jack sighed, _Guess I’m on my own,_ he thought to himself and looked for a good first hand hold. Abu jumped down and sat at the bottom obviously not wanting to be part of the climb. Jack shook his head, but went on. Jack loved heights, it was one of the reasons he always wanted to fly and it also led to a lot of building climbing and roof top jumping as a child. This was an easy climb, there were tons of hand holds and foot holds, though he had to be careful not to stick his hands on any of the treasure that was sitting around on different ledges. Near the top, he wasn’t paying attention and put his foot on one of the piles causing his foot to slip and a shower of treasure to rain down to the ground. Jack winced, but moved up the last foot grabbing the artifact.

He studied it a moment and was just slipping it into his jacket’s largest pocket when everything started shaking. The same booming voice from the door sounded, “You have touched the forbidden treasure, now you shall never leave this place.”

“What?!” Jack yelled frantically looking around, he had only grabbed the thing that Murdoch had said was safe. Had he lied?

Then he saw Abu on the ground frantically looking around the shaking chamber with a big jewel in its hands. Jack yelled down, “Abu! Damn it! Drop the jewel!”

Abu looked up at him and did just that, but the rumbling didn't stop if anything it was getting worse. Jack was trying to pick his way back down when there was a jolt that made him lose his grip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Did y'all like my steampunk take on Carpet? I will post another chapter in the morning.


	14. It's Not a Teapot!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are half way there! This I think is the last chapter with new characters ;). Thank you everyone for reading!

There was barely a second of weightlessness before Jack’s back hit something. He twisted himself onto his stomach and realized Carpet had caught him as a flat sheet. Jack smiled and patted it, “Thank you so much. Now grab Abu and let’s get out of here.”

Carpet swooped down and sent off a small patch to grab Abu as they passed, putting him next to Jack. Jack glared at the monkey and said, “There’s a time we steal things and a time we don't. This was definitely a don't.” Abu had the curtesy to look ashamed.

Jack griped the edge of Carpet tight as debris started falling around them. He almost fell off completely when Carpet barrel rolled to avoid a geyser of what suspiciously looked like lava. Jack wiggled to the edge and sure enough there were now rivers of lava flowing between the rocks and the air was getting much warmer. The doorway to the hall was gone, now just a gaping hole with more lava pouring out of it. It seemed like everything was sinking and lava was taking the floor’s place. Jack could see the exit up ahead with a figure standing there.

They were almost there when Carpet failed to dodge a falling rock sending his hexagons all over and Jack flying towards a cliff face that was once the sandy slope. He could feel Abu dangling from his neck. When he hit he grabbed onto the rocks with all his might and slid a couple feet before his hold stopped them. He could feel the throbbing in his hands and knew they must be pretty cut up from the rocks. He took a deep breath, glancing at the lava below him before looking up. He was surprisingly only about six feet from the top edge and could see Murdoch above him. He still had a mildly amused look on his face really unfitting for the situation at hand in Jack’s opinion. Jack scrabbled up the rock a few more feet and yelled, “Would you help me?!”

Murdoch looked at him, “The artifact first.”

Jack stared at him he could easily reach down at that point to pull him up, “Uh no. Me first.”

Murdoch’s face didn't change, “The artifact.” He moved his hand down close but not close enough for Jack to reach. Jack growled, but released one hand to grab the damn tea pot, holding it up. Murdoch snatched it then smiled, “Bye bye, Jack Dalton.”

Jack’s eyes widened, “What?! No help me!”

Murdoch shook his head, “No.”

Jack was still holding his arm outstretched and he felt, then saw Abu run up it and attack Murdoch. He let out an angry scream and swung his staff down hitting Jack’s other arm off the cliff. He was falling towards the lava and everything seemed to slow down. He watched Abu go sailing over the cliff with him and the exit start to shrink. He closed his eyes and just kept thinking; _I am going to die. I will never see Riley again or get to try to make things work with Mac because I am going to_ _fall into lava and die._

Just when he was sure he would hit the surface and burn to death, he hit a familiar solid moving surface and almost started to cry. Another thump landed next to him and he reached out a hand to find his little mechanical friend also safe. He gave a slightly hysterical laugh and turned to kiss Carpet’s surface. He lifted his head looking at the cavern ceiling and said, “Carpet, I could marry you right now. You are forever going to have a place with me if you keep saving me like that.”

Carpet shuddered in what Jack hoped was happiness and flew deeper into the cave. It was getting darker in there now. Whatever strange light was illuminating things earlier was gone and it seemed like the lava trap was over. They had survived. Carpet slowly circled around before gently depositing Jack on the ground and forming itself into a long hexagonal rod and laying itself next to Jack. _Maybe magic carpets get tired too,_ Jack thought. He groaned and sat up looking down at his cut up and bleeding hands. He really hadn’t noticed the pain until now. He ripped the hem of his shirt into two pieces and tied them around the cuts on his palms.

Jack looked around the cavern, there was no more treasure anywhere, just the three of them. He had screwed up, he should have turned off Abu and this wouldn’t have happened, but he really liked the monkey and didn’t want him to learn that Jack was the big bad guy that could turn him off. There was also the chance that Riley could reconnect and at the moment he could really use her help.

Jack looked over at the monkey and raised his eyebrows. It was sitting there holding the tea pot in his lap. Jack smiled and patted Abu on the head, “Now that was an excellent time to steal. Good monkey.”

Abu preened and chattered holding the artifact out to Jack. He took it and stared at it for a moment before sighing and looking around, “Now if only I could figure a way out of this magical cave.”

Jack got a metal on metal ticking noise in response and looked down to find a piece of Carpet bouncing off of the tea pot in his lap. Jack look down at the rod and held up the item, “This thing can get us out of here?”

The piece bobbed, then moved back and forth over the surface of it. Jack, confused, copied the motion rubbing his hand across the gold. He promptly dropped it and jumped up when blue smoke started to pour from the spout. Then it solidified into a dwarfish, blue woman with smoke for legs. A series of lights popped around her sounding like mini fireworks. The woman had her eyes closed and in a loud booming voice said, “Oh master, what is your wish?”

Jack stared at her, speechless. He had no idea what he was looking at. After a moment of silence, the women opened her eyes and looked around, pausing briefly on Jack, but moving on. When it was clear it was just Jack, a clockwork monkey, and a compacted magic carpet her gaze moved back to Jack. She put her hands on her hips and asked in a much more normal voice, “Alright, where’s the big guy?”

Jack finally found his voice and squeaked out, “What big guy?”

The blue figure let out an exasperated breath, “The big guy, the one that releases me- the great all-powerful genie- from my confinement, so they can make their three wishes for gold and power and all sorts of other evil things.”

Jack shrugged, “Just me here, that guy’s outside probably hoping I’m dead. I rubbed the teapot and you popped out.”

The genie sputtered, “Teapot?! What kind of person are you? Its an oil lamp, a tea pot looks completely different.” A typical ceramic tea pot showed up in the genie’s hands. Jack looked down at the lamp and shrugged, looked a lot like it could be a small tea pot. The genie sighed and landed on the ground. The smoke forming into legs and she glared up at Jack, “If you say one thing about my height, I will smite you.”

Jack held up his hand, “Your height doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I think I am more concerned with the fact that you’re blue.”

She glanced at her arm, “Comes with the territory. Well if you are the one that let me out what are your wishes?”

Jack sat back on the ground; he really didn’t feel right looking down on this very magical woman. He shrugged, “Uhm what can you do? Carpet said you could get us out of here. Are there rules to these wishes?”

The genie looked at Jack in puzzlement, “You are definitely a first. For the last thousand years I have been stuck in that lamp and always get passed around from one villain to another, so how did you get me?”

Jack had a feeling this genie was a good person and told her the truth, “The big evil guy you’re talking about sent me in to get it for him. Betrayed me, but my monkey stole it back at the last minute.”

The genie looked at Abu who had been playing with a piece of Carpet and gave an appreciative head tilt, “I approve of the monkey.” She looked back at Jack, “Now for the rules. You get three wishes, no more, no less. There is no wishing for more wishes. I can't make somebody fall in love with you or bring somebody back from the dead. How about a little demonstration?” Jack shrugged, “Come on guy, I have been stuck in there for a few hundred years give me some enthusiasm.”

Jack had to smile; he liked this genie. “Oh great miss genie, show me your power.” She smiled at that, then Jack added, “My name’s Jack by the way.”

She popped up into the air with smoke legs again, “Alright Jack, well this is what I can do. I can make gold,” a shower of gold coins fell from her fingers, vanishing as it hit the ground. “Or I can give you golden locks.” She wiggled her eyebrows as Jack hair rapidly grew and turned golden blonde. The look he gave her must have shown he was not amused by that, so she shrugged, making it vanish and continued, “Or remove it. I can make a diamond the size of your fist!” She held up a huge diamond a handed it to Jack. He had never seen something so huge, then it vanished. “What happened to your hands?”

Jack had mostly forgotten about his cut up hands, “Oh they got cut up pretty bad when I was trying to get out of here.”

The genie gave him a look, “You could have said something. I can fix that too.” She waved a hand and the pain vanished. Jack removed the fabric wraps and saw perfect unblemished skin underneath.

Jack looked up at the genie smiling and said, “Thank you. I get to keep this one, right?”

The genie smiled back and waved a hand, “Yeah, that one’s a freebie.” She rubbed her hands together, “Now for you first official wish. Just rub the lamp and say I wish. I suggest getting us out of here. I really miss sunlight.”

Jack contemplated, “I have to rub the lamp?”

The genie gave him a cold look, “Yes, you have to rub the lamp for an official wish. And be specific: our magic is all powerful, but doesn’t always do what expected.”

Jack nodded, “Alright I got this.”

The genie got excited and spun a couple times, “Lay it on me.”

Jack smiled: the genie was the perfect amount of distracted, “Ok genie....” He pushed the lamp behind his back where he felt Abu grab it, _good monkey,_ he thought. “I wish we were all back in core city in the flat I share with Riley Davis.”

The genie smiled and with a snap of her fingers they disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Decided Matty would make the perfect genie, hope everyone is in agreement. No more chapters this time on WiFi, but hopefully more in a few weeks.


	15. I Can Make You a Prince Or.......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! We missed the last bus back to my village, so here I am still with WiFi. Lucky for all you it means you get another chapter. Thank firefly734, its basically all her fault that you are getting this ;) Happy Reading!

Jack felt like he was going to throw up the world wouldn't stop spinning. He had to sit down and try to wait it out. Then the screaming started, a very familiar scream, so still with his eyes closed he yelled out, “Riley stop screaming, it’s me...... and some new friends!”

Thankfully she stopped and ten seconds later Jack was holding an arm full of his little sister who seemed to be holding back tears when Jack finally got his eyes open. She pulled back and smacked him on the chest, “Don't you dare do that again. You took a step into that place and I lost Abu completely, then an hour later I get a partial argument with the crazy guy talking about killing you. Then nothing again. Only for you to pop into existence in our living room. You better start explaining things now.” She stabbed another finger into his chest.

Sighing Jack stood, pulling Riley up with him. The genie was standing at a respectable distance to the side. Jack held a hand out to his new blue friend, “Riley let me introduce you to the genie, uh...... Oh man I never got your name.”

The genie looked confused, “My name? People don’t ask for my name.”

Jack smiled, “Well you have one, right? Can't keep calling a friend “the genie.”” He did little air quotes.

The genie scowled, but Jack could tell she was touched, “Of course I have a name. Its Matilda, but my friends called me Matty.”

Jack grinned, “Well Riley, meet Matty. Matty, meet Riley.”

Riley waved, a bit of awe on her face and said, “Its so good to meet you, a real being of magic. I study magic, but mostly just stuff with core programming.”

Matty smiled at the other women, “It's a pleasure to meet you as well. Its nice to get out around normal people.”

Riley looked at Jack, “We are normal?”

Jack shrugged, “I should probably tell you what happened.”

Riley nodded and Jack went over everything that took place under the clock tower. At some point they moved over to the sofa and Matty wondered around looking at the baubles on the shelves. Carpet was once again flying around as a swarm of hexagons with Abu giving chase.

At the end of the tale Riley took a deep breath and just said, “Well shit.”

Jack leaned back, “Yeah, I really own my life to Carpet and Matty.”

Riley looked at him then over at Matty, “So what are you going to wish for?”

Jack shrugged, “Not sure, I have three wishes to work with.”

Matty looked at him, “You have two. Remember one was used to get us here.”

Jack smiled, “Was it?”

Matty looked confused and popped out of existence for a second before popping back and saying, “You and your sneaky ass monkey.”

Riley looked between them, “What am I missing?”

Jack chuckled, “An official wish requires one to rub the lamp and say the wish. I never rubbed the lamp, Abu took it from behind my back.”

Riley looked over at the mildly perturbed genie, “And he can get away with that?”

Matty rolled her eyes, “Technically yes. My magic has odd rules.” She looked pointedly at Jack, “Also, I like you, so I am going to let it slide this time. Mostly I don’t want to go back to the cave. Now what are you going to wish.”

Jack thought for a moment, “Do I have to make the wishes all at once?” Matty shook her head, “Hmmmm, I don’t know. What would you wish, Matty?”

Matty got a weird look on her face, “Nobody has ever asked me that, ever. But it’s easy, I would wish to be free.” She tapped one of her large gold bracelet cuffs, “I would love to have my human life back.”

Jack cocked his head, “You were human?”

Matty jokingly smacked him, “Of course I was human. I was cursed into that lamp. The curse gives a mage a ton of power, but locks them into a teeny tiny living space.”

Jack smiled, “Why can't you free yourself?”

Matty shrugged, “Doesn't work that way. Only way for a genie curse to be broken is if the one in control of the lamp uses one of their wishes to set me free and that’s never going to happen.”

Jack waved a hand, “Never say never, I’ll use my third wish to set you free. I promise.”

Matty stood quietly contemplating the truth of his words then simply said, “Thank you.”

Riley watched on smiling. She liked Matty already and thought she would fit into their little family. Then something else popped in her head and she blurted out, “Mac!”

Jack looked at her confused, “What about Mac?”

She smacked him like Matty had, “Put that thick head to use for once. You have a genie on hand you could wish to be with Mac.”

Matty held up a hand, “Now wait, I can’t make anyone fall in love with anyone.”

Riley shook her head smiling, “Not the problem. The problem is that Mac is the crown prince and Jack is.... well Jack.”

Matty contemplated, “We can work with that.”

Jack’s brain finally caught up to what they were saying, “Could you make me a prince? The king is allowing Mac to court other princes now, so I just need to look like a legitimate suitor.”

Matty shook her head, “Specificity remember. I can make you a prince....” she snapped her fingers and a random princely dressed man showed up in the room, looking around incredibly confused before disappearing. She continued “or I can make you **into** a prince.”

Jack stared at where the random prince had appeared and disappeared he slowly said, “Riiiight, the second one is good. Can Riley come too?”

Matty waved a hand, “Of course. A prince will need an entourage. Now are you going to make the wish? Officially this time?”

Jack chuckled and picked up the lamp giving it a good rub, “Matty I wish for you to make me **into** a prince, so I can court Prince Angus.”

Matty gave a bow and snapped, making Jack disappear from the sofa to be standing in the space behind it. Jack threw his arms out and muttered, “Please warn me before doing that.”

Matty didn’t respond looking him over, “Hum, how do we want to do this, big and flashy? Elegant but subdued?”

Jack was at a loss and it must have shown on his face as Riley chuckled from her spot on the sofa. She spoke up, “The subdued option will be better. Mac isn't like a typical noble, I think he will like a more down to earth prince. Though we need to impress the court, so it still needs some class.”

Matty nodded and snapped a few times making Jack's clothes change into various different styles of very fancy dress. She hummed and looking over to Riley asking, “What about color?”

Riley was smiling seeming to be enjoying herself too much for Jack’s taste. She contemplated Jack's current outfit, “This one’s too bright. Go darker maybe a grey with dark blue accents.”

Matty thought this over, “Dark and mysterious. I like it.” She snapped again and Jack’s clothes changed this time into a trim sophisticated outfit mostly in neutral grey shades with hints of blue.

Matty and Riley looked at each other and said together, “Too dark.”

Jack sighed, “What about green? I like green.”

Matty gave him a look like he should stay out of it, but after a moment's contemplation she snapped her fingers once again. Riley let out a little gasp and Jack looked down at himself trying to get an idea what he was wearing.

With another snap a tall mirror appeared in front of him, he let out an appreciative noise. He was wearing a semi-formal military style suit coat in a dark green with bronze accents over a black silk shirt and creme colored trousers tucked into supple brown leather boots. He had a brown cape fastened over one shoulder with a fancy bronze shoulder guard and a thin fencing foil attached to a brown leather belt. To finish it off, on his head was brown top hat. Carpet decided to add itself onto the outfit by falling in a bronze honey comb pattern over the top of Jack’s cape. It was a good place to hide in plain sight. Abu was sitting with Riley watching curiously, they would have to figure out a hiding place for him later.

Jack looked at Matty with amazement, “Matty this is awesome.” He thought for a second, “Will anyone recognize me?”

Matty smiled with a smug look on her face, “Of course it is, I made it and no only people that know its you will recognize you, so us two. Nobody else will. Joys of genie magic. Now we need a name. Can't go in as Jack.”

Riley shrugged and with a small smile said, “Duke Jacoby?”

Jack glared at her, “We do not speak of that name.”

Matty looked to Riley, “You need to tell me that story later.”

Riley laughed and nodded, “It’s quite the tale. Uhm what about Jay? Short for Jason. Its easy to remember and if we slip up and almost say Jack it will be easy to fix.”

Jack nodded, “I like that.”

Matty thought it over, “Okay, we have a first name, but a prince needs at least two more. Jason...... William? hmmmm.......”

Riley added, “Kastille?”

Jack tried it out, “Prince Jason William Kastille of.... where am I from?”

Riley sat there stumped and Matty muttered, “Taha chaina”

Jack looked at her, “Tachaina? That works. Does that mean something?”

Matty blinked, “I don’t know.”

Riley looked confused, “You don’t know?”

Matty sighed, “No, **I** don’t know.” She put an odd emphasis on the I and the other two stared at her.

Jack decided to move on, “Alright then. I am Prince Jason William Kastille of Tachaina. So, what now?”

Matty smiled, “We move to your new airship of course.”

With a flourish they all landed on the deck of an airship, in the middle of the night. Jack had honestly forgotten that it was still night. There were a few crew members running around that bowed when they passed the trio. Jack was grinning, “This is mine?”

Matty shrugged, “A wish to become a prince carries many benefits. Now its time to go work on Riley and myself. I can’t walk into the palace blue. You go to bed.” Matty snapped one more time and Jack found himself in the nicest sleeping quarters he had ever seen wearing night clothes fitting of a prince. He really would never get used to genie magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy! Maybe another one before we leave, but no promises we have to leave very early in the morning.
> 
> Fun Fact: Taha Chaina means "I don't know" in Nepali (pronounced as ta china). That is my little joke to myself. I hope you enjoy. I have decided its now canon that the ancient magical language in this world is Nepali :) 
> 
> If you want to see a picture, the inspiration for Jack's princely outfit comes from this concept art by Bentelicous (https://www.deviantart.com/bentelicious/art/Steampunk-Prince-281342803) its just the right amount of quirky and dashing and I think its wonderful. I have no reason for name choice its the best I could think of a better one.


	16. Jams!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry its been over a month, last month went crazy for us. If people haven't heard, Peace Corps got evacuated from every country around the world. Was quite the adventure getting back to the US. Good news for you all, I am no longer in Nepal and will have good internet again. I just have to poke my beta to get editing now that we are both in mandatory quarantine for two weeks.
> 
> This is one of my favorite chapters (and scenes from the movie) hope you enjoy!

Mac sat at his small personal dining table picking at his breakfast. There was no one there to force him to eat, so he was in his head instead. He kept trying to figure out why Jack hadn’t showed up last night and was seriously debating whether he could send someone to check on him. On the one hand they had only known each other a day, so Jack could have decided that Mac wasn't worth the risk. On the other hand, Mac just couldn't see Jack leaving the way he had if he truly wasn’t planning to come back. Mac let out a breath and put down his fork. He had the day free before some big banquet party tonight, so at least he could distract himself in his workshop.

Mac nearly fell from his chair when Bozer burst in looking around for him. He was overly excited about something and his face lit up when he found Mac, saying, “Oh man, Mac, you have got to see this.”

His friend barely glanced at Mac’s uneaten food before pulling him up and to the balcony. Mac’s balcony was on the far side of the palace but he still had an unobstructed view of the road to the docks where it looked like a brightly colored parade was heading towards the palace. Mac looked at Bozer confused, “What in the world is going on? There’s no festival today.”

Bozer shook his head, nearly vibrating with his excitement, “This isn't us. They docked this morning.” He pointed at a moderately sized airship with green flags that Mac didn't recognize, “I got word from the runner that it's a prince come to court you. From some country I have never heard of from across the sea. They are doing this parade thing to give gifts to the people and introduce their prince and country. I don't know, it's pretty extravagant, must be a wealthy kingdom.”

Mac stared at the colorful procession- there was a lot of bronze and green, but the Prince must be inside the carriage following a group of knights on horseback. He could hear drums and trumpets from all the way up where they were.

He glanced at the ship and then looked at Bozer confused, “I learned two days ago that my father would allow me to court other men. How did they know so quickly? And also, how did all those people and horses fit on that airship?”

Bozer shrugged, he was enjoying the parade instead of questioning it, “Fast ship? Could be they caught wind when the king sent for the Matriarchy prince. That actually would make a lot of sense. As for size of the ship you would be amazed how large the holds are.” Bozer elbowed Mac, “Come on, a new prince will be a good distraction.”

Mac hummed noncommittally; he really was still too upset about Jack not coming to be really excited about another prince. He sighed, “We should get to the throne room. I’m assuming we will be meeting them right away with the banquet tonight.”

Bozer nodded and glanced at him, specifically at his clothes, “How about grab a formal coat first?”

Mac sighed, but quickly retrieved the garment, fastening the buttons as they walked out the door. Like always Sam and Desi were a step behind and from the looks they were sharing it was clear to Mac that they also thought this would be a good distraction for him. He glanced back and said, “Before all this happened, I wanted to ask if one of you could check on Jack and Riley for me later. I need to know why they didn't show up. I really can't handle the mystery.”

Sam nodded, “I will go this afternoon before the banquet.”

Mac nodded taking a calming breath, “Thank you.”

The throne room was a bit crazier than normal. This prince definitely was not doing himself favors by giving such little warning of his arrival. Mac took his place on his throne and got an approving nod from the king who was already seated. He wasn’t sure what to make of this new side of his father, but at that point he wasn't going to complain. The grand vizier was a different story. Whatever good mood he had been in the day before was gone and he was scowling towards the door, like this was the last thing he wanted to be doing.

Bozer stood by Mac’s side since this was already a very impromptu event and they both didn't think anyone would care. They could hear shuffling and voices outside the room, but everyone was waiting for the king to give the signal as the people in the room got settled. After one more moment, King James did a sweep of the room, then nodded to the guard at the door. It was pushed open and the first person to enter was a small woman with wavy black hair. She was wearing an elegant blue dress with gold accents matching her gold jewelry. She gave a deep curtsy then moved to the side with a sweep of her arm, saying in a confident loud voice at odds with her size, “May I introduce to the court of Core City: Prince Jason William Kastille of Tachaina, accompanied by the Duchess Raelyn Elizabeth Kastille.”

The prince entered first followed by the duchess. Bozer gave a little gasp as the duchess walked in, but Mac couldn't say why. He got the impression she was pretty and the Prince was handsome, but something about them kept slipping away from his thoughts. They had an odd familiarity, but Mac knew that they were strangers. They were both wearing the green and bronze that were apparently their kingdom's colors, and the duchess had darker skin than the prince, but that was all that Mac could focus on. He did see that the prince was wearing a more military style of clothing and had a rapier, so that might make him an improvement over the last prince.

Mac shook his head slightly as the Prince stepped forward and gave an awkward bow. When he spoke the same feeling of familiarity, but newness passed over Mac, “It is a great pleasure... of mine to be here before you all.... for a chance to court Prince Angus MacGyver......” he sounded unsure of what he was saying and had oddly skipped Mac’s middle name. Not something that normally happened in these formal meetings.

King James smiled broadly and said, “It is an unexpected pleasure to have you. I have not heard of your country before. I wish there was some kind of message before your arrival.” It was obvious, to Mac at least, that his father wasn't very happy with this unexpected turn of events, but he still wanted Mac to marry and would give this prince a chance.

The prince glanced down at the small woman that Mac could only assume was an adviser or chaperone of sorts before snapping back up and responding, “We do apologize. Our country is far across the ocean and we were traveling as ambassadors and....uhm...”

Prince Jason seemed at a loss to where he was going and the duchess stepped in obviously the better diplomat as she said, “We heard of Prince Angus’s open courtship and my brother couldn't help but meet him.” _They are siblings? Must be adopted like......_ the thought slipped away as soon as Mac started it and Duchess Raelyn continued, “We really do apologize, we have no small vessels with us or other way to send news ahead once we heard.” She gently elbowed the Prince and they seemed to have a short silent conversation.

Bozer leaned down and whispered, “This prince is worse at being a prince then you are.” If Mac could get away with smacking him in the middle of the throne room he would have, but Bozer wasn't wrong.

The court silently watched on and Prince Jason blurted, “Gifts! We brought gifts from our land.” He waved behind him and a parade of servants in the Tachaina livery came forward holding different objects and trays. The prince started naming things as they walked in as if he had no idea what was coming before it got to him, “Gold statues! Wine! Jewels! Cheese! Fruit! Uhm...” He paused when a tray of jars was brought in.

The advisor looking like she was about to shove the prince out the door said, “Jams.”

The prince held a hand out to the tray, “Yes! Jams! Such delicious Jams. Only the best Jams. All different types of Jams”

Mac had to keep himself from snorting when he heard the adviser mutter, “Move away from the Jams.” Prince Jason stopped talking and looked around the court with an uncomfortable smile not knowing what else to say.

Mac took pity on him and asked, “Thank you, and what are all these gifts for?”

The Prince had a slightly bewildered look on his face as he looked right at Mac, “You!” Mac raised his eyebrows and Prince Jason continued stumbling over his words turning redder, “To buy you.” Bozer did snort behind him and Mac’s eyebrows rose even higher. “No! I mean buy time with you. I would like to spend time with you.” Mac saw both women cover their faces with a hand, even they saw the train wreck their prince was becoming.

Mac’s hope that this prince might be better than the last was slowly falling and he stood turning to his father, “Sire, if you don't mind, I think I shall be taking my leave. I need to go find some bread.”

Bozer smiling added, “For the Jams.”

The King nodded and as the two were exiting the room mac heard him say, “We thank you for these gifts. We request you all join us tonight at our banquet. There will be food, drink, and dancing.”

Mac didn't hear the response as he quickly walked down the hall. Desi and Sam falling in with them both obviously trying to keep from laughing. Bozer keeping step with Mac’s long strides said, “That might be the strangest prince I have ever seen and I am friends with you. The duchess was gorgeous though.”

Mac gave his friend a pointed look, “Better court her fast cause I don't think my father will let them stay long. He wants me married, but that Prince has no diplomacy.”

Sam shrugged, “I think he’s just shy and was nervous about meeting you. He looks like a nice guy.”

Mac knew Sam was excellent at reading people, but that didn't change the facts, “He got stuck on jam and said he wanted to buy me.”

Desi snorted, “He's good looking though. Hopefully he can use his sword better than he can his mouth.”

Mac stared at her, that sounded so wrong and he was pretty sure she said it on purpose. He gave up when he only got an innocent smile, “Moving on. He will be at the party tonight. I will give him a second chance. In the mean time I am going to be in my workshop.” They reached Mac’s suite and when Bozer made a move to follow him mac said, “Alone...... please. Go find your new crush or something.”

Bozer held up his hands and backed off. Alone in his suite Mac walked into his workshop and closed his eyes, resting with his hands on the counter top. _What a way to start the morning_ , he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!
> 
> Still not going to have a schedule for posting, but things should come more quickly with reliable internet.


	17. May I Have This Dance?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another one, Jack has another chance to win Mac as a prince, will he do it? 
> 
> Thank you firefly734 for continuing to beta. Happy Reading!

Bozer was prepping Mac’s evening wear when Sam entered his chambers. Mac glanced up from the buttons of his shirt and asked, “What did you find out?”

Sam took a deep breath and Mac prepared for the worst, "I went to their apartment and after getting no response entered using the hidden switch. There was no one there and from my cursory look both beds weren't used last night maybe not even the day before. I asked around with some of my contacts in the city guard, but they haven’t been arrested or reported missing. I am sorry, Mac.”

Sam didn’t use his preferred nickname often and when she did he knew it was to soften the blow of something. Instead of answers, Mac had even more questions and now he had to go play the part of the good prince at a banquet and pretend he was enjoying himself.

He must have gone into his head longer than he had thought as Bozer held out his dinner jacket, gently removing Mac’s hands from their position on his shirt buttons. Sam had taken her leave while he was off in his head. It was again just Bozer and him in his dressing room.

Bozer, trying to be cheery like he hadn't just heard the same news as Mac had, said, “At least there’s a party tonight! Drinking, dancing, just what you need!”

Mac gave his friend a sideways glance, “I barely ever drink and I hate dancing.”

Bozer’s smile faded slightly, but he kept it on his face, “The princes will be there. That will be a distraction.”

Mac groaned- he had honestly forgotten that the Matriarchy prince was still there, so he had to mingle with two princes that at this point seemed like they would be horrible choices for a king.

Bozer did not look amused at his groan, “Come on. Help a brother out. Just a little. The duchess is like a dream come true. I need this chance to at least get to know her.”

Mac sighed and put a hand on his friend's shoulder, “I already said I would give Prince Jason a chance. If you really hit it off with the duchess then I will put a little more effort in, alright?”

Bozer smiled, “And this is why we will always be friends. Come on, dinner is starting.”

Dinner was a boring, uncomfortable affair for Mac. Both visiting princes were placed on either side of his seat at the head of one of the tables in the huge dining room. Prince Malcolm wouldn't stop talking long enough for anyone else to respond to him and he was basically only talking about himself and all his various meaningless hobbies. Mac kept hoping Prince Jason would speak up and talk with him, but he was oddly quiet mostly staring down at his plate as he was eating. It was curious to watch him though. The strange prince acted almost as if this was a completely new experience. His eyes would light up when new courses were set out and at one point, he tried to take the wine decanter form a servant and pour his own drink. An elbow from his sister on the other side stopped him. Bozer sat right next to Duchess Raelyn and if their animated movements were any indication, they were hitting it off pretty well. Mac wished he could be next to them instead of sandwiched between the two opposite princes.

At some point Mac caught the Grand Vizier staring at their table, but for once his gaze was fixed on Prince Jason instead of Mac. He had an odd expression on his face like there was a puzzle that he couldn't solve. He shook his head and turned away without even glancing at Mac. That was a first.

Thankfully dinner came to an end and everyone filtered into the adjoining ballroom where the royal orchestra was already playing from their raised stage in the corner. Prince Malcolm was following Mac closely still keeping up his endless stream of chatter. Mac was really getting tired of it, but Bozer was already out dancing with the duchess and Mac had lost track of Prince Jason. He was trying to extract himself from the chattering prince when he caught sight of Prince Jason being pushed backwards towards him by his adviser who Mac had never gotten a name for.

When he was close enough Mac turned grabbing him and saying loudly, “A dance! I would love to dance.” At that point quiet and awkward was much better than pompous and loud. Prince Jason was wide eyed as he was pulled out into the mass of dancing figures. He stumbled a few times trying to keep up with the dance, but then went stiff for a second before falling into perfect step.

Prince Jason smiled at him, “I am glad we have a chance to talk alone. You look very nice by the way.”

He seemed a bit more at ease than he was that morning and Mac couldn't help the slight blush that ran across his face at the complement. Mac responded, “Thank you. You do as well, Prince Jason.” He was no longer wearing the sword or his cape, but he still looked very fine in his trim military jacket.

The prince looked away as if embarrassed, “Please call me Jay. I prefer it to the titles.”

Mac could understand that and nodded, “I prefer Mac over my given name. I understand that.”

They both smiled again as the song changed to a free style waltz instead of the traditional choreographed number played previously. Jay took lead and spun with Mac around the dance floor. He had a lot more energy than he looked like he had previously and was an incredible dancer. Mac was actually having trouble keeping up and at some point stepped away when Jay started doing a solo dance the likes of which Mac, and from the stares the rest of the court, had never seen before. It was very impressive and all Mac could do was stop and stare. It ended with Jay doing a backflip and landing facing away from Mac.

At that point Mac decided he had enough for the night and turned around. He heard an oddly familiar, “Mac, wait!”, but he didn't stop or turn around. He saw Bozer by himself near the edge of the room and grabbed him as he was walking past, “I hope you have had enough for the day because I need to leave and would prefer you come with me.”

Bozer stumbled slightly as he followed, “Yeah Raelyn had to go speak with their guardian Matilda, that’s the small women with them by the way. She said she was likely retiring for the night.”

Mac nodded, “Good, this all just got too overwhelming.”

Bozer tilted his head in agreement, “If somebody did a dance like that for me I would also need to get away for a while too.”

Mac sighed, “I don’t get it. At first it was like he was a normal person and we were starting to have a normal conversation. Then he reverted to the fancy prince and started the whole crazy dance. Is that a thing they do in their country?”

Bozer shrugged, “How would I know? I didn’t know their country existed until this morning. Raelyn is wonderful though. She's so down to earth, really smart to. I think she is what I would imagine Riley would be like if she were a noblewoman.”

Mac paused his brain finally connected the familiar words Jay said to ones Jack had said. Jay and Jack. Raelyn and Riley. Both dark and light. Its was a strange coincidence indeed, but he was distracted by Bozer and the thoughts once again disappeared.

“Are you still going to give him a chance then?” Bozer asked.

Mac thought about it a moment, “I think so. He is better than prince Malcolm, a little more down to earth. I think Sam is right and he’s trying really hard to be something that he isn't. Like me, he’s born a prince, but the role doesn't really fit.”

Bozer chuckled, “He's more interesting than Prince Malcolm. He's a puzzle that you can’t help but solve.”

Mac hadn’t thought of it that way, but Bozer was right. Mac liked to figure things out and Jay was another puzzle. Mac sighed- that probably wasn’t how he should look at a potential husband.

Mac stripped out of his jacket when they got inside his suite, thinking about the last few days. He turned to Bozer who was already sitting in his favorite chair, “It's been a really strange few days, hasn't it?”

Bozer laughed, “That's one way to put it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess not this time ;)
> 
> Comments are always awesome, let me know what you all think!


	18. We Need a Distraction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back again and back with Jack. Thank you my ever faithful Beta. Finally tagged the Riley/Bozer, forgot with the last chapter, but yeah that's happening if no body noticed ;)
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

“The backflip was too much wasn’t it?” Matty asked as they were all sitting around the visitor quarters they had been assigned.

Jack lifted his head from his hands and looked at her, “Yeah, I would say it was. You magicking me so I could actually follow that fancy dance was one thing. That was useful. I was even getting somewhere with Mac. The crazy dance made him run away. Why did you do that?”

Matty shrugged, “You were taking too long.” She didn’t even look ashamed, “Besides it was an awesome dance.”

Jack glared at her and Riley laughed, saying, “It was really cool. If you could do that in real life you could have made it rich being an entertainer.”

Jack’s glare moved to include both the women in the room and the monkey for good measure. They had no use for Abu at that point, so he had just been hanging around with Carpet, they had an interesting mechanical friendship developing.

Matty smiled more, “Hey, I think blondie actually liked it, he just seems to be uncomfortable with attention.”

Jack stared at her, “Blondie? He has a name…….. Multiple names.”

Riley chuckled, “I think Mac would find the nickname cute. He seems to hate his name. Besides he might have the best hair I have ever seen.”

Matty nodded her agreement. Jack sighed, “Why are we talking about his hair and not how I am going to win him over?”

Matty gave another shrug, “He liked you as Jack, this act was for the court more than him, tell him the truth.”

Jack shook his head, “I can't do that. I don’t think Mac would be comfortable keeping this lie up with the whole court just to be with me. It's better that he fall for Prince Jay.”

Riley cocked her head, “I don’t know, Jack. He’s not really a normal prince, he might accept it.”

Jack looked over at her a little sad, “You’re just saying that because you really like Bozer and don’t want to lie to him.”

Riley had a serious look on her face, “Damn right. I liked him before I even saw him in person and now I like him more. Starting a relationship with a lie is just going to end things in disaster. I would rather them know, so we don’t have to keep up this act.”

Jack looked at her fondly, “I really want you to be happy and you seem to fit into this world. Being the elegant duchess comes so easily to you.”

Matty snorted, “That's because she isn’t letting the “royalty” get into her head. You have to be confident in your role. You are a royal- do what you want and stop trying to act royal. It will just keep making messes.”

Jack thought about that, “You know, you're right.” Matty stared at him with a look that said “duh”. Jack continued, “I need to go over there right now and woo him as me.”

Matty gave him another look, “And how are you going to do that one? At this point his guards aren’t just going to let you in like they would a coal boy. That's palace gossip that they won’t allow to spread.”

Jack waved over at Carpet, “I don’t use the front door.” He looked at Riley, “We just need a distraction.”

Riley looked back at him, “Why are you looking at me?”

Jack grinned, “Well a certain Duke has taken a fancy to a certain Duchess and I am sure he is with the prince right now and needs to be removed.”

Riley glared at him and Matty chuckled, getting a glare of her own. Riley shot a pointed look at Jack, “Using a woman’s feeling to your advantage, that's cold.”

Jack smiled innocently at her, “But will you do it?”

Riley sighed, waving her hand, “Of course I’ll do it. I would greatly enjoy having more time to spend with Wilt. I’m just saying you will owe me. Especially for continuing to keep up our charade and not telling him the truth.”

Jack raised his hands in surrender, “Alright, aright. I owe you one big and I will think about telling him the truth. No promises on that one.”

Riley rose and looked down at the huge evening gown she hadn’t changed out of yet. She had no idea how noble women wore these dresses on a daily basis, even with genie magic it wasn’t very comfortable. She looked at the other two, “Give me ten minutes to change into a lighter dress then we can go woo our people.”

Jack nodded and Matty followed Riley out of the room to magically assist changing the dresses. Jack was really glad he wasn’t a woman and didn't have to wear those crazy dresses. He went and put his cape back on, motioning for Carpet to attach itself again.

Abu looked up- sad about being left out again. Jack squatted, patting him on his head, “I am sorry Abu. You’re one of a kind and Mac and Bozer would recognize you. You have to stay here and protect the suite from invaders.”

That seemed to perk up the mechanical monkey and it gave Jack a salute, ready to do its task. Jack really loved this monkey and would have to ask Riley about modifying it, so nobody would recognize it as the same clockwork monkey that hung around a thief. Jack sighed, maybe Riley was right about telling Mac and Bozer the truth. They would both probably accept Matty with open arms, but to force a lie on somebody else just didn't seem right. They had made their choice and needed to stick with it.

Riley and Matty came back out. Riley was now wearing a much lighter dress that still looked beautiful on her. Jack had to smile, if nothing else Riley really could fit into this life. Even if she was more comfortable in pants and boots, elbow deep into a magic core project.

Matty bid them good luck, disappearing into her lamp with a final wave. The two of them left the guest suites and quickly walked towards the Prince's quarters. Jack watched from around a corner as Riley went up to the doors and knocked. Desi was the one that opened it and did a full body sweep with her eyes. Riley gave a stunning smile, fit for a duchess and said, “Hello, I am looking for Duke Wilt. Is he here?”

Desi smiled and nodded. Jack then slipped around to a side window and jumped out, Carpet detaching from his cape and creating a sheet to catch him. He flew up to Mac’s balcony quietly landing with Carpet hiding away again. He put his ear to the crack in the door and heard Mac say “Go! Have fun.”

Jack could hear the smile when Bozer responded, “Yeah alright, see you later.”

Jack waited to hear the outer door click shut before pushing open the door, giving it a knock and saying, “Knock, knock.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! The next chapter is one of my favorites and it will be up at some point next week.


	19. I Can Show You the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry slightly later than I wanted to post it, but I got my act together and here it is. I loved writing this chapter so much. Its such an iconic scene in the movie and without music I hope I did it justice.   
> Happy reading!

“Knock, knock.” Mac whirled around from the front doors to see Jay standing in the doorway to the balcony.

Mac looked at him confused, “How did you get in here?”

Jay gestured behind him, “The balcony, of course.”

Mac sighed, “How did you get onto the balcony?”

Jay gave him a charming smile, “A magic carpet.”

Mac stared at him, but couldn’t help the small smile that formed, “Alright don't tell me. I assume you recruited your sister to take away my friend.” Jay nodded and continued to smile. Mac smiled back, “Well then perhaps you can help me- I just can’t seem to find your country on any map. Show me please?”

Mac picked up one of a series of maps laying on the table and held it out to Jay. There was a brief moment of panic that swept across his face before his features smoothed out studying the map. He nodded to himself and looked up at Mac, “It’s not on this one it’s even further beyond this edge.” Jay was pointing at the far edge of the map beyond the ocean.

Mac turned to grab a different map, “I have larger ones, you can show me on one of-“ He cut off as Jay grabbed him and pulled him back. It wasn't a forceful gesture, just a gentle guide to move Mac’s attention away from the maps.

Jay smiled and quietly said, “Later. I didn’t come and sneak in here to look at maps. I came to get to know the lovely Prince that stands before me.”

Mac blushed and looked down. Jay was doing a damn good job distracting him from his previous inquiry. Jay brought the hand he was holding up to his lips giving it a gentle kiss before saying, “I also wanted to apologize to you about this evening. I took things too far with the dance and it obviously made you uncomfortable. For that I am sorry.”

Mac smiled at him, this Jay was a vastly different person than he had previously met and he thought this might be the real one. Mac said, “It really was quite impressive. I think it took me by surprise more than anything. It's true I am not fond of attention though.”

Jay smiled only having to look down slightly to look Mac in the eyes. Mac realized he was the same height as Jack. At that thought Jack’s face took over Jay’s and Mac had to blink a few times for the image to disappear. Jay gave his hand a little tug, “Can we get out of here?”

Mac shook his head, waving at the door, “Only if you want two chaperones the whole time.”

Jay gave him a mischievous smile, “I wasn’t talking about going out the front door.” He winked and releasing Mac’s hand went out the still open door to the balcony, “We will go this way.”

Mac shook his head walking a couple steps forward, “Its a multi-story drop, there is no way we are climbing down the palace.”

Jay winked at him. “Who said anything about climbing?”

Mac’s heart stopped when Jay jumped up on the edge and stepped off the balcony. Wide eyed Mac ran to the edge to look over. Before he got there though, Jay came rising back up crouching on an odd sheet made of bronze hexagons. Jay was wearing a smile that made his face turn into Jack’s again, but vanished just as quickly as the last time.

Mac was slowly shaking his head, “You actually have a magic carpet.”

Jay smiled, holding out his hand, “Climb aboard and I can show you a whole new world.”

Mac took a step back and Jay’s face fell a little causing Mac to take a cautious step forward, “Sorry, I am just not overly fond of heights and that has no rail.”

Jay’s smile turned gentle and he didn't lower his hand, “I promise you neither I nor Carpet will let you fall. When was the last time you did something crazy?”

Mac, wide-eyed but trusting, stepped forward and took Jay’s hand muttering, “A couple days ago....”

Jay chucked deep in his chest and pulled him aboard the flying carpet. They sat next to each other and Jay put his arm around him. Another rush of familiarity hit Mac and he looked over at Jay or at that moment Jack and his face stayed for longer this time. They were rising into the air, but it was smooth and with Jay’s arm around him it did make him feel safer. His heart was still racing as they got up over the city, moving down the coast at a brisk pace, but not a terrifying one.

Jay let out a laugh and turned to him, “I love flying. It's my favorite thing and I only recently got to experience it. This rush, being able to go anywhere I want, see anything, it's nice.”

Mac leaned into him more, not ignoring another piece of information linking Jay to Jack, “It’s really nice to get out and have a different view. I feel safe with you which is surprising considering the last time I was in an airship I was nearly catatonic with panic. It's been a long time. I used to love it, but things changed.”

Jay looked over at him, his features slowly shifting to stay more like Jack's. He asked, “Do you mind if I ask what changed?”

Mac shook his head holding Jay tight more because of the memory than continued flight, “My mother loved to fly, she had a small personal craft that held about six people. I went out with her a lot, but one day the balloon caught fire. It was just the two of us that day and we were over the ocean. I remember falling, but nothing after that until I woke up on the deck of a fishing boat that had watched the crash. I learned later that it was a deliberate attack that took out the balloon and as we were falling my mother had thrown me free of the wreckage, but she had gotten caught in it and pulled under with it. Only reason I survived was because the fishing boat had been so close. They never found her body. Heights have terrified me ever since.”

Jay squeezed his arm around Mac tighter as they sailed over lands Mac hadn’t seen since he was a child. They were quiet for a time and Mac eventually realized they had turned and were heading back towards Core City. The lights distant on the horizon.

Jay squeezed him again, “Be happy you knew her. It's better than not.” Mac looked at him. It was Jack and it stayed that way. All the little pieces of evidence fell into place and Mac was looking at his missing thief. He smiled to himself.

They paused at the edge of the city and with a deep sigh Mac said, “All the places you could take me and this will always be my favorite. I love this city with all my heart.”

Jack gave a hum of agreement. Mac was sure he didn’t even realize he did it. Taking a chance to make sure he was right, Mac pointed down and asked, “Is that Abu down there?”

Jack looked down confused and automatically said, “What? No, it can't be him...” he trailed off and gave Mac a sheepish look when he realized he'd been caught.

Mac folded his arms and gave him a hard look, “Want to explain to me how you went from a street pickpocket to a prince in a day.”

Jack scratched his head, “Well I was always a prince. Riley... uhm.... Raelyn and I were playing a role here in the city. You could say we were spies for our country.”

Mac didn't believe it for a second, but decided to play along, “Really? And why didn't you tell me that when you snuck into the palace.”

Jack had to think on that for a second, “Well, it would have looked bad to learn a different country’s nobility had been sneaking around your city and we thought it would be better to vanish and come back in as our real selves.”

If Jack and Riley hadn’t told him so much about themselves when they first met Mac maybe would have believed what Jack was saying, but for some reason Jack didn't want Mac to know the truth or was afraid of something. At that point Mac didn't care, it was a mystery that could wait. As long as the cover held up with the court he could have the man in front of him.

Mac leaned forward and planted his lips onto Jack's. Jack made a small sound of surprise, but quickly returned the kiss. They were both thankful that Carpet could change shape and catch them when they leaned too far and fell backwards. They lay there laughing for a moment. Then Mac sat up running a hand through his hair to hide his blush. He looked out across the city and said, “We should get back and on solid ground. We can talk more later.”

Jack smiled, but seemed a little punch drunk, “Alright, let's do that.”

Jack resumed his position holding Mac tight as they raced back to the palace. Jack helped Mac off onto his balcony, then gave him another quick kiss before racing off into the night. With a happy smile on his face he walked inside to find Bozer scowling at him with his two guards behind sharing similar looks. Bozer was the one to speak saying, “Where have you been?”

Mac smiled, not really worried about his friends actually being angry, “On a magic carpet ride with Prince Jason… or should I say Jack.”

He wasn’t sure which statement did it, but Bozer dropped his arms and looked confused, “A magic carpet? Jack? Okay please explain.”

Mac sat down in one of the chairs and his friends all took seats too, “So the short of it is this…..” Mac explained everything that Jack told him.

Desi held up a hand, “And you believe that?”

Mac snorted, “Not in the slightest, but Jack is afraid to tell me the truth right now, so I decided not to push and get it from him later.”

Sam asked, “Are you alright with him lying to the court?”

Mac shrugged, “I honestly haven't decided yet. It's an ever-changing world and he somehow got the clothes, gold, and airship to back up his claim. It's actually quite charming that he would try so hard to be with me. If this is what it takes, I will keep up the lie. He will make a fair better King than many others I have met. He just might need a little training in diplomacy.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “I think we need to figure out how he did it though. It could be something dangerous.”

Sam nodded, “Agreed and this doesn't move beyond us. We should stay quiet about it all.”

There were nods and Bozer let out a big yawn, “Well this has been exciting, but I think it's time for bed. I will have a talk with Rae- Riley tomorrow.”

Everyone stood in agreement and went their separate ways. Mac collapsed in his bed and really wondered when his life became this complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Going to try to get the next one up more quickly. Until next time!


	20. The Feeling of Falling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Here's another chapter for you. Things are about to pick up!

Jack hummed as he strolled down the halls towards Mac’s rooms. Abu was trailing behind him since there wasn't a reason to keep him a secret anymore. Last night had been a dream and he hoped to continue things where they left off. He had talked with Riley and Matty all morning about their cover and Matty had even magically added their country onto one of the maps sitting in Mac's room for when he asked about it again. Riley still really wanted Jack to tell the truth- saying their story was getting too complicated and Mac probably already didn’t believe it, but Jack was scared of the full truth coming out in the open. Mac could be lost to Jack forever if that happened.

Jack was so lost in his head he didn’t notice the shadow of a person in front of him until he almost walked into him. Looking up he found himself face to face with Murdoch. Oh no, not again, Jack thought to himself as he tried to keep his face neutral. He gave a small bow and said, “Good morning to you, sir.” He tried to take a step around the dark man, but he just moved with Jack.

Murdoch had one of his wicked smiles on his face, “I am so sorry Prince Jason, but I really do need a word with you.” He said the word prince as if it left a foul taste in his mouth.

Jack froze, “Alright I can spare a minute. What do you need?” He was trying to be casual like a prince that had never met the Grand Vizier, but it was very difficult when the man in front of him had tried to kill him and was terrifying in general.

Murdoch smiled, “Not here, I am afraid we need somewhere more private.”

Jack let out an embarrassing yelp as a couple autos grabbed him from behind and pulled him down the hall. He really wished Matty was there or even Carpet, but both were back in their quarters. He did see Abu race away down the hall, so at least he might have help there.

He was dragged into a private courtyard that seemed to be open to the cliff above the ocean and was quickly tied to a chair. At that point he started making a fuss and would have yelled if Murdoch hadn't put his staff into Jack’s face with the eyes glowing. Jack went quiet and swallowed. The man had started to whistle an old nursery song, but he was doing it slowly and made it sound very haunting. The autos put the chair up on the edge of the cliff, the threat implied in the action very clear. He really didn't want to think about the drop behind him. Murdoch stepped up and tapped his face, “It truly is remarkable magic, I don’t recognize you at all.”

Jack let out a panicked laugh hoping to hide the lies about to come out of his mouth, “Of course you don't recognize me. I have never met you before.”

Murdoch narrowed his eyes and tilted the chair back a little causing Jack to freeze again. Murdoch stared into Jack’s eyes then set the chair back flat. He said, “See that could be true, but I saw you take little Angus out on a magic carpet yesterday and I know for a fact there was one under a tower where I lost a certain thief with a very special artifact in his possession.”

Jack shrugged, “Sorry? You have the wrong man. I got my carpet as a present years ago.”

Murdoch leaned the chair back again, “A prince shows up the next day from a land nobody has ever heard of with a magic carpet and his eyes on a special little prince. I think that’s too much of a coincidence, so I am going to push you off this cliff. If you live I have my answer as to where my artifact is and if you die..... well I don't really care.”

Jack was only able to get out, “What!? Wait no!” before Murdoch tilted the chair fully over and Jack started to fall.

It was an odd experience. He had already fallen twice in the last week and many times in his life previously. Both times that week were short and Carpet saved him. Now he was tumbling through the air tied to a chair and he kept getting glimpses of the glittering blue water below him. Everything was moving in slow motion like it had before, but he didn't see carpet flying to his rescue this time. He was terrified of what this man was planning, and if he went after Riley to get the lamp he would never forgive himself.

Falling through the air also made a different kind of falling apparent to Jack. He was falling in love with a beautiful blonde prince. He would have laughed if the situation wasn’t quite so terrifying. Him, a regular street rat, was falling in love with a prince and that prince wanted him back and only while falling to his death did he fully realize it. He understood why Mac was so scared of heights after experiencing this feeling. He didn’t want the two kisses they shared the night before to be their last. It was all too unfair. He had found a genie and possibly the love of his life just to die now. He started to pray to any god he knew for a miracle, just so he could hold Mac in his arms again.

The world came back to regular speed as he hit the water. Thankfully the chair hit first or the fall would likely have knocked him out at the very least. He was still stunned and knew he hadn’t taken a very good breath before going under, but he wasn’t giving up yet. He started sinking towards the bottom and he wiggled, trying to get free. He knew how to swim, but at that point it didn't help since he couldn't seem to get free of the chair.

He settled gently on the sandy bottom and looked around for anything that could help. There was only blurry sand and rocks strewn about and Jack knew it was pointless. The salt water was making his eyes sting, but he kept them open when he saw a rectangular shadow above him and a familiar shaped gold object started to drift down towards him.

The lamp landed a couple feet from him and he desperately squirmed his way towards it. His need for air was becoming great and he instinctively tried to take a breath only getting a lung full of water. His vision was going dim as he felt his fingers brush over the smooth metal. The last thing he saw before his vision went dark was a very confused Matty appearing in front of him.

* * *

Jack came to suddenly coughing up water. A gentle hand was patting him on his back and he turned to see Matty standing there soaking wet. A cursory glance showed they were back in their quarters. He coughed a couple times more before asking, “What happened?”

Matty looked away, “Before you ended up in the water? I don’t know. Abu came and got Carpet and the lamp and dropped it to you. Carpet apparently doesn’t work well in water. You were able to rub the lamp before passing out and I used your second wish to save you. I had to Jack. I couldn’t do something that big without using a wish.”

Jack waved it away, “It's fine. I would rather be alive.” He looked at Abu who was floating on Carpet and smiled, “I seriously need to thank Riley for making that monkey.” He started and looked around worriedly, “Where’s Riley? Murdoch was looking for the lamp he wasn't certain I had it, but was willing to kill me to find out. I need to find Riley and warn Mac.”

Matty looked shocked for a second, but was able to shake it off, “Riley went out with Bozer shortly after you left. They talked about meeting up with you and the prince for lunch. Let’s go to blondie’s suite, if everyone isn't there, we will find them.”

Jack stood and closed his eyes against a wave of dizziness. He also felt how wet he was. Opening his eyes, he pinched his wet sleeve and asked Matty, “Could you?”

She gave him a “What do you take me for?” look and then their clothes were dry. They rushed out of the room and made it to Mac’s in record time trying to look as casual as possible to the people walking the halls. They startled Sam and Desi by bursting into the entry, but they recognized them and instead looked behind them for a threat.

Desi asked, “What’s going on?”

Jack took a deep breath, “The Grand Vizier just tried to kill me. Is everyone here?”

Sam nodded and didn't seem too surprised by Murdoch’s treason, “Bozer and Lady Raelyn arrived not long ago. Prince Angus has been worried. Go on ahead. We will stand guard.”

Jack pushed open the doors into the sitting room and very quickly he had his arms full of his prince. They held each other tight for a moment and Mac asked, “Where were you?” When he pulled back and saw the look on Jack's face he added, “What's wrong?”

Jack sighed, not letting go of Mac. He had almost died and he needed a moment to hold the man that he was rapidly falling for. Finally, he pulled away and said, “Grand Vizier Murdoch tried to kill me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Getting closer to the end now and I have a lot of ideas of what to write next. So excited to share the rest with yall.


	21. Breaking Staffs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back for another one. Enjoy!

You could hear a pin drop; the room had gone so silent at Jack’s words. Then the room erupted into chaos- Mac and his two friends behind him all started asking questions at once, only for Jack to raise his hand and say as loudly as he could, “Can we sit down and talk about this one person at a time?”

Mac nodded and led Jack to the smaller loveseat while Riley and Bozer sat side by side on the sofa, and Matty took a chair. Mac looked straight at Jack and simply said, “Explain.”

Jack took a long breath before starting, “Murdoch believes I have something he wants in order to take over the kingdom. When I didn't give the answer he wanted he shoved me off the cliff.” Mac gasped at that, recalling vividly his own time falling from a great height. Jack gently squeezed him and continued, “Abu had run and got Carpet and they saved me. Thank god you made that monkey, Ri.” He smiled at Riley, who Mac noticed looked at Matty and got a nod back. Mac still wasn't sure how Matty fit into things because he hadn’t met her before they arrived as nobility, but Jack and Riley both seemed to look to her for counsel.

Riley looked at Jack, “Then you came here?”

Jack nodded, “Not much else to say. I needed to make sure you were all safe, but I think we need to report Murdoch. He has a creepy fascination with you Mac and I really don't like it.”

Bozer scowled, “You’re not the only one. That man has been watching Mac like a creep for years, but only a few of us ever seem to notice.”

Mac sighed running a hand through his hair, “We need to talk to my father. He's the only one above Murdoch and at this point it sounds like Murdoch has been planning to commit treason. I never knew why my father trusted him in the first place.”

Mac stood and held out his hand to Jack, “You don’t all need to come, I think Jack and I can handle it.”

The other three all stood and Matty said, “I think we are all coming. I assume it's much safer if we stick together anyways until this monster is locked up.” Mac was surprised by the venom in Matty’s voice and really wondered if Murdoch was a personal enemy. It could honestly just be that he hurt Jack, she did seem rather protective of him.

With nods of agreement all around they headed out the door. They filled in Sam and Desi as they made their way to the king’s study. The door was cracked slightly and Mac held up a hand to make everyone stop and be quiet. Mac stepped forward to listen.

To his distress he heard Murdoch's voice saying, “It's true sire. I myself saw that prince steal away in the night and his ship is preparing to leave as we speak. I am sure he was a spy and their nation is now getting ready to attack.”

He heard the annoyance in the king’s voice, “Murdoch why do you always believe war is upon us? That prince doesn't seem the brightest. Is he really plotting something?”

Murdoch was surprisingly calm when he replied, “I watched him leave your study, he stole something last night and fled. I am sure he has a small craft and is gone by now with his important people and the large ship is just a decoy.”

At this point Mac had had enough and pushed open the door before his father responded pulling Jack in with him, “Then tell me why Prince Jason just showed up at my quarters claiming you tried to kill him.” He felt the others listening at the doorway but no one else came in. Murdoch glared at them and specifically was giving Jack a suspicious look.

The king rose, this was obviously getting out of hand in his opinion, “Murdoch, explain yourself.”

He gave a long sigh and a lazy wave of his hand, Mac noticed the eyes of his staff seemed to start glowing, “Lies obviously, they are trying to trick you.”

Oddly the king parroted the last thing he said, murmuring, “Trick me.”

Jack made a noise and leapt at Murdoch grabbing his staff, spinning and slamming the snake head on the ground. Murdoch let out a roar and went for Jack, but Desi jumped in and grabbed him before he could complete the action. The king shook his head and asked, “What just happened?”

Mac was honestly not sure himself and was glad that Jack responded, “Murdoch is a mage and was using his magic to manipulate you. The staff is his focus. My guess is he’s been doing it for years without your knowledge. From the impression I got he's been trying to take over your kingdom and was very close to success.” Mac needed to remember to teach Jack how to be diplomatic because that was a very blunt statement to say to the king.

King James looked at Jack with a mix of shock and gratitude. Thankfully the gratitude seemed to win and he said, “How was I so blind? I apologize for the trouble this has caused for you, Prince Jason. I hope you will still do us the honor of gracing our palace.”

Jack glanced at Mac and they shared a smile before turning back to the king, “I am not going anywhere, your highness. I would ask for him to be punished accordingly though.” Jack pointed at Murdoch, who Desi had in some kind of head lock that seemed to keep him from talking. He was sending glares around at everyone in the room.

King James glared right back at him, “He will be punished to the full extent of our laws. He will not see the light of day again for this treason. Lady Nguyen, Lady Cage if you will escort this traitor to the dungeons.” They nodded and pushed the squirming Murdoch out the door.

Mac was surprised when his father looked directly at him, “I am sorry, my son. I feel like my eyes have been shrouded for these last ten years. I have been a horrible father to you,” He looked over at Jack, “I fully support your choice in suitor, he seems to have a good, brave heart.”

Mac blinked a couple times before stammering out, “Uhm, thank you, father. It's good to have your support.”

The king smiled and waved a hand at his desk, “If you would excuse me though, it seems I have a lot of work to do and I must see about finding a new Vizier.”

Mac and Jack both bowed respectfully and exited the room. They were met by their three beaming friends. Mac gave Bozer and Riley both hugs, Jack followed. Mac then kneeled and gave Matty a hug who seemed completely surprised by it. He whispered, “I know you helped make a lot of this happen. So thank you. You deserve hugs too.”

Matty gave him a smile as they parted, she seemed to fit right into whatever little family they seemed to be creating.

The five of them, seven once Desi and Sam returned, spent the rest of the afternoon and evening chatting and playing games to celebrate their victory. They ate together in Mac’s rooms instead of in the dining room with other nobles and all in all it might have been the happiest evening Mac had ever had.

The night ended with Mac alone with Jack on the balcony. He was coming to think of it as their balcony. It had been home to many good moments between them in the last few days. Mac leaned back into Jack saying quietly, “It's been less than a week since I met you, but it feels like my life has changed completely. Murdoch is gone, my father seems to be turning over a new leaf, then of course there’s you.” He turned and gave Jack a quick peck on the lips. Jack chuckled warmly, staring into Mac’s eyes. He seemed to like doing that, but Mac got lost in Jack's brown eyes just as much, so he couldn't blame him.

Jack gave him another peck before separating against Mac's protests. He chuckled, “You need to go to bed, my prince. I hear there is court tomorrow.”

Mac stuck out his tongue, “In a few months you will be stuck in court too you know. You will have to start learning about these things.”

Jack shrugged, “I will be happy wherever you are.”

It was said so matter-of-factly that Mac couldn’t help but dart in for one more kiss. They separated smiling and went back inside to their friends hand in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked reading it as much as I liked writing this one. I love sappy romance, so hopefully y'all don't mind. There will be more ;)


	22. Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another edited and ready! This ones a little short, but they will get longer. Happy reading!

Jack sat in a chair, slowly spinning the lamp around in his hands deep in thought. Matty stood in front of him, hands on her hips, but she wasn’t saying anything. Jack knew why she was staring at him. He had one wish left and he had promised to use it to free her. Right at that moment a thousand thoughts were drifting through Jack’s head and for the first time in his life he was considering breaking a promise. It was a point of pride that he never made a promise he couldn't keep, but right at that moment freeing Matty and losing the lifeline she was terrified him. Having to continue his lie without her seemed impossible right now.

Finally, he put the lamp on the table and looked Matty in the eyes. She seemed to know what he was going to say and was resigned to it. Jack took a deep breath, “I can't free you right now. I am not saying I won’t. I don’t have any use for my third wish right now, but I would be nothing without you. I would be dead without you.” Matty’s eyes went flat and emotionless at his words and Jack had to pause at the weight held in Matty’s stance. _What am I doing?_ He thought to himself before out loud he said, “I need to think. I’ll make a decision later.”

With a shake of her head and look of disgust she became smoke and disappeared into the lamp without a word. Jack picked on the lamp debating making her come back out to talk, but decided it was better to let her cool off. He needed to think and be by himself a while. He had too many opposing thoughts to sort through. Riley and Abu had gone off with Bozer again and Jack couldn't help the small smile at that. She was fitting right in and had found someone she really liked. He had also found a person, but for some reason he couldn't stop thinking that if the lie fell through things would turn much worse for him.

He was a wanted criminal and thankfully Riley wasn't. She could likely be saved by Bozer. He didn’t think the same would happen for him. Without having Matty there as a net he was sure he would fall hard. The other part of his brain was saying Mac wouldn't let that happen and that Matty deserved to be free.

Jack stood, wishing there was something he could hit. He had too much energy and no outlet. Mac was stuck all day in court and Jack was stuck with his thoughts. Instead of finding something to hit he grabbed a hooded jacket, much nicer than his old leather one, but it would keep him inconspicuous. He shoved the lamp into a small satchel and left the palace. He slipped out the back door, not wanting to deal with having guards trail him like they were supposed to. Jack wasn’t sure how Mac had gone ten years stuck in the palace before slipping out. After two days Jack needed a break.

He went through the upper ring quickly, but slowed when he reached the familiar streets of the lower ring. He needed that familiarity to relax and sort things out. He turned towards his favorite market street, the same one he had met Mac in. It was calming to slip into the crowd and pick out people that would be good marks. He even considered pickpocketing a couple, but decided that was just asking for trouble.

The market was packed that time of morning and it felt good to disappear into the crowd of shoppers. He nearly fell at one point when he was shoved hard from the side. He had to smile and shake his head. It was good to be invisible without all the eyes watching his every move. How Mac survived it, Jack had no clue.

His mood clouded again and he shoved his way out of the crowd. Who was he to think he could be royalty? If he was with Mac and their lie was never found out he would be king. He snorted at the thought, a common pickpocket, I would lead the country to ruin. He shook his head and headed down the street he had walked daily. He barely stopped to press the secret button and went up the stairs.

Jack stopped at the top of the stairs. It was odd that only after a few days it felt so desolate. He glanced at the still open door of the lab and imagined Riley in there making something amazing, but he was sure she would find herself an even better work space in the palace. That wasn't the problem Jack was having. They were in the same city, but they left this place without a second thought to go play at something they weren't meant to be. Jack glanced at his room, but instead decided to go up onto the roof. He leaned against the half wall and let the breeze ruffle his hair for a moment his mind clearing.

He looked at his airship waiting in the sky harbor. He smiled to himself. Even if he was found out he would still have that and he was sure all the people would still be his subjects. He made a note to ask Matty if those people poofed into existence with the ship or if they were transported from somewhere and spelled. He really wasn’t alright with the second possibility.

He took a deep breath. He had won Mac, the king accepted him and his main threat was in prison. He was being incredibly selfish to try and keep Matty locked in her prison. She said she was a mage before she was cursed, so it wasn't like he was losing a powerful friend. Even if she wasn’t powerful she was still a wonderful person that didn’t deserve to be trapped inside a lamp. He wasn't sure what had caused him to fall into such a deep hole that morning, but the light breezing pulling clean air from over the ocean was helping clear away the paranoid thoughts.

He reached down to his satchel to pull out the lamp and fulfill his promise. Jack froze when his hand came up empty.

“No, no, no....” he muttered as he looked around. How had he lost the lamp!? He remembered how crowded the market had been, specifically he remembered the hard shove he had received. Classic misdirection. Jack shook his head and said, “I am so stupid,” as he was making his way down the ladder and back out onto the streets. He would go back to the market and see if he saw something suspicious, like a small blue woman. In the back of Jack’s head he knew from experience a well pulled pickpocketing job wouldn't have been noticed and they would have gotten out of there quickly.

He could check with the known fences, but he had a really bad feeling that he was targeted and they knew what they were grabbing. That would point straight to Murdoch and Jack really hoped his gut was wrong and that lunatic was still locked up where he was supposed to be.

Not even halfway back to the market there was a loud rumbling that shook the ground. Jack looked around as it settled and saw above where the palace was a dark cloud was forming.

“Shit...” Jack breathed, he really wished he had brought Carpet with him. He took off running towards the palace and his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens! so excited to share more. Only have a little more editing to do.


	23. I Won't Go Silent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the longest chapter I have written! It just kept on coming out. Happy reading!
> 
> WARNINGS: Murdoch (so much Murdoch), unwanted attention and mild touching (only the face)

Court day was a term that Mac and Bozer used to describe any day that Mac or both of them were stuck attending to official duties. Some days they would suffer through endless council meetings together since Bozer was a Duke and his family held high seats in the ruling council.

Other days were like today. Mac liked to call them complaint days. It was the one day of the week that the king would sit on his throne and hear concerns from the people. When Mac turned fifteen it had become his job as well, he wasn't allowed to speak- just observe and listen. Then after he would get a lesson from his father. In theory any citizen in the kingdom could come forward, but most commoners were too afraid to come straight to the king with a problem, something Mac really hoped he could change. Instead it was an endless stream of nobility complaining about the most ridiculous and mundane things. Oftentimes they were petty arguments that they wanted the king to solve. His father's ability to stay serious and attentive through the whole day was one of the things that Mac had always admired about him. Mac had problems sitting still for so long and when younger had often fidgeted during these long days on the throne, King James always made a point to reprimand him in their lessons. Mac had since learned to fidget just his fingers, rubbing small circles in the arms of his throne. In this way he was able to keep the rest of himself still and calm like a prince should be. He had decided long ago that he would only continue this tradition as King if he could get the common people with real concerns to come forward. There were so many better uses of time than listening to the nobility argue for hours.

It was almost noon, the time they would take a lunch break, when a cloaked figure entered the room. Instantly the guards went tense. It was law that no person could enter the palace with a hood and it was even more strictly enforced within the presence of the king.

The royal guard all stepped forward. Sam and Desi were side by side in front of Mac; the Kings own guards standing next to them. Mac and the king had both stood up when the figure entered and Mac could see his father’s hand resting near the pistol he always carried. At that moment Mac wished he had his lightning blade on him because of how tense things were getting. He made a note to himself to start wearing it daily.

King James boomed out, “Remove your hood at once.”

The answering chuckle sent a chill up Mac’s spine. It was a familiar noise that shouldn't be there. Before Mac could voice a warning, Murdoch pulled off his hood and smiled at them. He sang out, “Oh MacGyvers! Did you really think you were done with me? A little cell like that can't hold me.” The king made a hand motion and the closest guards moved forward to seize Murdoch, but they hit some kind of invisible wall. Desi took a shot at him, but the round stopped dead in midair and dropped to the ground with a small plink. Everyone was tense and unmoving after that. Murdoch laughed, looking at the crowd, “I am still a mage. Even without my staff I can shield myself.”

The look in King James’s eyes was terrifying to Mac, but didn't even make Murdoch flinch. With a sharp edge to his words the king asked, “What is it that you want?”

Murdoch’s eyes roamed the room and his eyes rested on Mac for a few seconds before moving back to the king’s. Mac felt dirty after the glance, but he felt some relief when Murdoch said, “I want to be king” instead of what Mac was fearing he would say.

The king released a huff of air, “Ha, kings are born. You will never be king.”

Murdoch’s smile never faded, “That is where you are wrong.” He pulled out an old-fashioned gold oil lamp. Mac had only seen that style in books before never in real life. For the life of him he didn't understand why Murdoch would pull it out at that moment.

Mac didn't have to wait long for his answer. With a flourish he ran his hand over the lamp and blue smoke poured from the lamp solidifying into a familiar figure. Mac couldn’t stop the surprised, “Matty?” from leaving his lips. She briefly glanced at him, but the look on her face was so sad and empty, it was like she was a different person. The fact that her skin was also blue didn't help explain anything.

Murdoch started laughing and yelled, “Genie! I wish to be king of the Core Kingdom!”

Matty made no sound, but looked apologetically at the two royals. Whatever was about to happen it was clear that she really didn’t want to do it. She snapped and both Murdoch and King James disappeared only to reappear moments later in opposite spots. The king’s crown now sat on Murdoch's head. Matty was quickly sucked back into the lamp.

Mac stumbled away from the man that appeared next to him and staggered into the wall a couple steps back. Apparently, the shield had come with Murdoch, but this time Mac was also inside of it. He pressed himself against the invisible wall and he saw Sam to the side of him trying to break through with her lightning blade. It looked to have no impact except to send its lightning a couple inches over the shield surface.

Murdoch was laughing into the air, he looked at the dethroned king before him, “See, you old fool! here I am king.” He gave a dismissive wave, “Now guards, seize him- I want him to have a front row seat to my victory.” A few confused guards took a couple hesitant steps forward and gently took James’ arms. To his credit he didn't struggle, he was waiting to see how this played out before acting.

Murdoch then turned to Mac and it took all of his training to keep his face neutral and keep eye contact. He refused to let Murdoch see how terrified he was at that moment. Mac stood there with his chin high and glared at the older man.

Murdoch chuckled, “Such fire in your eyes. This is why I have always kept my eye on you. You are so much more than your father was taking you for.” He took a step closer, “You have a choice now. Accept your place by my side peacefully or suffer.”

Murdoch reached a hand out to touch Mac’s face and Mac grabbed his wrist. With as much venom in his voice as he could muster he spit out, “I will never stand by your side. Whatever you do to me, I will always fight you.”

Murdoch pulled his wrist free and pushed Mac away. The shield had been released and Mac fell backwards. Sam and Desi were instantly between him and Murdoch with their weapons out.

Murdoch narrowed his eyes at the women, “You dare raise arms against the king.”

Neither woman lowered her weapon and Desi said, “Our loyalties lie with the Prince. They always have and always will.”

Mac pushed himself to his feet and glanced at his father who looked resigned to what might happen. Something sparked in Mac at that moment, like a surge of magic within a core orb; he knew he needed to do something. Mac stood tall and said to Murdoch, “A king's power doesn't come from his title. It comes from the people that look to his rule and respect him. Every single person matters, no matter who they are or what part of the kingdom they are from. As royals we are only as strong as our citizens make us. The people of Core City will never follow you. You will have no power here!” His eyes never left Murdoch's, but he felt many in the room turn towards him. It was the first time they had heard him speak so loudly and confidently.

Murdoch’s face darkened, “I will have power, I will have everything.” He held up the lamp and gave it a violent rub, “Genie! I wish to be the most powerful mage that has ever lived.” The blue skinned Matty appeared again with the same lost and hurt look on her face, she waved her hand and Mac felt the magic rushing through the air into Murdoch. A staff similar to his previous materialized in his hand, the air was crackling around him and there was a rumble from outside that shook the palace. Matty didn't disappear back in the lamp this time.

Murdoch started laughing maniacally holding his hands outstretched, “This is power!” He pointed his staff at James who went wide eyed. His clothes changed to that of a pauper and it looked like he aged ten years. James dropped to his knees panting. Mac rushed to his side, the man may not have been a good father, but he was still Mac’s.

Mac glared up at Murdoch from his crouched position, “Why are you doing this?” Behind Murdoch he saw Matty who seemed like she wanted to vanish again and not have to watch what her magic was causing.

Murdoch smirked and shrugged, “Because it's fun. I did say you would suffer if you wouldn't stand by my side.”

Mac’s eyes widened; he had mostly ignored the threat before, but the man before him now could likely kill someone where they stood. His father who was always strong and confident was shaking on his knees weaker than Mac had ever seen him. At that moment Mac really wished they still had schools of magic nearby, so he didn’t feel so helpless against this threat. He built things with broken bits of metal and thrown out cores. He knew how to make explosives mixing different substances, but when it came to true magic he had no defense and that was terrifying.

Murdoch was apparently pleased with Mac’s lack of response. He waved a hand around the room, “I can remove any that don't stand with me. Them,” Sam and Desi vanished. “All of those,” a handful of guards disappeared from one side of the room. “And of course, the rest.” All the other guards in the room vanished. Leaving just Mac and his father facing Murdoch with Matty floating behind him.

Mac whipped his head around, “Where did you send them?”

Murdoch sighed, “Just the dungeons. Nothing to get so worked up about. They’re fine....” He smiled at Mac, “for now at least. That can always change, but you can protect them. All you have to do is agree to marry me and be mine in every way.”

James gripped his son's arm with a pale representation of previous strength and desperately whispered, “No my son. You can't let him win.”

Mac patted his father's hand; noticing how bony it now was. It made him shudder at the thought of losing his father any more or making any other person suffer in his place. Mac felt sick at the thought of being Murdoch’s husband in any way, but he couldn’t sit by and let anything worse happen. He didn’t want to let Murdoch win, but he didn't have any other plan to protect everyone. He slowly swept the room looking for anything he could use. Matty was looking at him and when he made eye contact she shifted her head down nudging her chin out. He looked where her chin was pointing and saw that Murdoch had put the lamp down on the throne next to him. If he could get that, maybe he could stop Murdoch. As much as he hated doing it maybe he could use Murdoch’s obsession for him against the man.

Mac slowly stood and took a step forward, “If I agree then everyone is safe?”

Murdoch rolled his eyes, “Yes of course. Don't you trust me?”

Mac took another step forward swallowing down the knot in his throat; he was still looking for anything that could get him out of using himself as bait. He saw a flicker of movement from the shadows behind the thrones. Looking at the spot he said, “Not particularly.”

Murdoch chuckled and took a step closer to mac and away from the lamp. Mac watched as the dark shape solidified into a familiar figure. Jack somehow had come to their rescue. A wave of relief passed through Mac and he looked at Murdoch trying not to give away Jack quietly inching towards the lamp. Murdoch continued to walk forward and it was all Mac could do not to take a step back.

Murdoch and Jack both started to reach out to their targets. Right before Jack could grab the lamp, he was frozen and slowly lifted into the air. Murdoch patted Mac on the cheek and Mac found that he was also frozen in place, unable to move his face away from the unwanted cold touch. Murdoch’s hand lingered by Mac’s cheek for a moment before slowly caressing around under Mac’s chin. Mac’s breathing picked up, but he couldn’t do anything else not even shudder at the touch. After what felt like an eternity Murdoch took his hand away from Mac’s face much to his relief.

Murdoch slowly turned shaking his head. He tapped his monocle, “You boys really thought you could pull one on me? I am the most powerful mage in existence and what are you, but a thief and a sad little prince.” He glanced up at Matty, “I might need to find a way to teach you a lesson too. As your master you should speak up about such plots.”

Matty glared at the man, “I am obligated to grant your three wishes, nothing more.”

Murdoch sneered at her. Then he turned to Jack and with a wave Jack's fine princely clothes faded away into the beat-up clothes he had been wearing the day he was shoved into the clock tower.

James stared at Jack and asked confused, “What is the meaning of this?”

Murdoch let out a laugh and clasped his hands together over his staff, “Oh this is good. I forgot you didn't know. Prince Jason here is really just a lowly pickpocket. Core City’s very own Jack Dalton. He stumbled onto a little power and for a time tried to use it to be with Angus. Really it was such a silly wish.”

Mac turned his head towards his father, but he couldn’t read the expression on his face. Together Jack and him would deal with the consequences of the lie. They just needed to stop Murdoch first. A step that Mac had no idea how to accomplish at that point. Matty was frantically looking around also, but it looked like she had no idea how to help them either without somehow breaking the link between her and Murdoch.

Murdoch went back to considering Jack. He tapped his chin, “What am I going to do with you? The dungeons seem too nice. You have certainly caused me enough problems.” His face lit up, “Ah! I have the perfect idea. A place where you will die cold and alone.”

Murdoch waved his staff, Jack vanished, and Mac screamed, “Nooooo!”

Mac’s hand was outstretched making him realize he was no longer frozen. He sank to the ground in despair trying to hold back the sob that wanted to escape. Murdoch crouched down, looking at Mac closely, “Devastation is a very good look on you. I will have to remember that. Now for your choice. What's it going to be?”

Mac looked up in defeat, but instead of seeing Murdoch he saw Matty behind him waving a familiar hexagonal staff. Mac’s face darkened and he locked eyes with Murdoch, “I would rather die than marry you. You might as well make me disappear with the rest of them.”

Murdoch narrowed his eyes, “That can be arranged. Maybe some time in the dungeons will make you reconsider.”

Murdoch did a grand wave of his staff and Mac looked to Matty and saw her nod. The world faded and he could have sworn her heard Matty’s voice say, “Go get our boy, Blondie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little cliff hanger there, would say sorry, but I'm not :P This might be my favorite chapter I have have written, I am a sucker for drama and angst. Let me know what you think of it all, hope it came out as intense as I was trying to make it. Murdoch is such an interesting character to write and I hope I did him justice.


	24. Should Have Packed a Jacket

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little faster than normal, maybe I will be able to keep this pace. So excited to be nearing the end! Only 4 more chapters after this one. Enjoy!
> 
> WARNING: hypothermia

Jack blinked, one moment he was floating frozen in the air staring into Mac’s frightened eyes. The next moment he was staring up at a grey sky with snowflakes falling towards him. The cold took a second more to hit, but caused Jack to sit bolt upright. He was sitting sunk into a bed of snow. Everywhere he looked was cold and icy. He stood all the way to get most of his body out of the snow, but really it was pointless. Murdoch had neglected to have his jacket appear with his pauper clothing. He was soaking from his short time in the snow and there was a sharp wind cutting right through his thin clothing.

Looking around Jack felt the despair of the situation hit him. He was alone in some unknown frozen part of the world and there wasn’t a thing he could do to change it. He regretted so much in that moment. At the forefront of his mind was not freeing Matty first thing that morning. This wouldn't have happened if he had. He was sure Murdoch would have still shown up again, but he wouldn’t have the power he did now if she wasn't in the picture.

Jack took a couple steps through the snow. He sank to his calf with each step. He needed to find shelter. He wasn't willing to die like this. Two days in a row the same man had tried to kill him. This was the third time in a week. It would have been funny if Jack’s feet were clad in something more than thin canvas shoes already soaking wet.

He took another step and then another. It was hard to breathe with how cold the air was. Each breath stabbing like a knife into his chest. He imagined Mac’s face when he last saw it. Jack knew he was trying to hide behind a mask of anger, but Jack had seen the fear in his eyes. The desperation when he had scanned the room looking for anything that big brain of his could put together. The light of hope and relief that filled them when he saw Jack.

He took another step slipping slightly. Arms wrapped tighter around himself trying to conserve what little heat was left in his body from being whisked away with the wind. He had seen the trust in Mac’s eyes. Mac was looking to him to fix it like he had the first day in the market. Not even a week had passed and this was where life put him. Jack had tried, really tried to save Mac just like before and now he was going to freeze.

He slipped to his knees. His legs were too numb to keep moving. Riley’s face filled his mind. Her smile, full and bright, as she threw a piece of food at him from the other side of their old sofa. He remembered the hungry little girl he had first found huddled on a corner. The gang that almost tore them apart. He hadn't told Mac about that. They were so young and it was so hard to live on the streets. He wanted to cry at the unfairness of life, but his eyes just didn’t seem able to produce tears any more.

He was swaying and just wanted to give up sleep for a time. Everything would be better once he woke up, right? He thought he heard his name being called across the wind. He closed his eyes and started falling only to be stopped by a pair of warm arms. He hissed as the warmth stung his frozen limbs. He thought he heard, “Carpet help me. He needs to get off the snow.”

Something wormed its way under him. A lot of somethings really, then he was out of the snow surrounded by warmth. The wind changed. It felt more directed. They were moving. He finally opened his eyes and blinked at the blond hair in his face. “Mac?” he mumbled.

Mac lifted his head. Putting a hand on either side of Jack's nearly frozen face. Mac nodded and Jack watched a couple tears drip down his face. He was smiling though when he said, “Yes Jack, I’m here and we are getting out of here.”

Jack looked around, still a little confused. Carpet was spread out below them and he could feel heat radiating up his legs from it. _Guess Carpet has more tricks than just flying,_ Jack sluggishly thought to himself. Then his eyes snapped to Mac’s and he said, “You’re flying alone.”

Mac chuckled wiping away a few remaining tears, “Yeah don’t remind me, please. I had to save you Jack. It didn’t matter what I had to do.”

Jack looked at the man before him in bewilderment, “I can’t be worth it.”

Mac leaned forward and kissed him, his lips felt like fire and it spread through him quickly waking back up his other senses. Mac leaned back and quietly said, “You are worth it, Jack. You could have left, but you were right there trying to save us. I love you.”

“You love....?”, Jack trailed off staring at Mac.

Mac chuckled, “Yes, you thick headed fool. I have loved you, the confident thief, since nearly the moment you pulled me away from that crazy merchant.”

Jack got a huge grin on his face at Mac’s words and said, “I love you, too. As Mac and as Prince Angus.”

Mac tilted his head, “It's probably a good thing your spell was broken. I didn’t really like Prince Jason.”

Jack winced, “You never believed it for a second did you.”

Mac shook his head smiling, “Nope, not after your face cleared.”

Jack sighed and looked away the direction they were going. Down a mountain apparently, slowly pine trees were starting to pop up and get denser. There was less snow and the temperature was rising. Jack let out a sigh of relief, he would be glad if he never saw snow again.

Jack turned back to Mac serious, “So what now? We obviously have to go stop Murdoch from continuing on whatever path he is following.” Mac smiled. Jack looked at him confused, “What?”

Mac fondly shook his head, “You keep proving yourself a worthy suitor for a prince. Most men would run screaming from a man like Murdoch.” He turned more serious, “But you’re right, we need to stop him.” He thought for a moment, “I think our first step will be to find Bozer and Riley. Hopefully they haven’t gone looking for us or the source of the weird rumbling yet. I want to make sure they are safe and I think the four of us will be more effective than just two.”

Jack nodded, “Riley has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. It would be good to pick her brain. Should we find Sam and Desi?”

Mac shook his head, “I don’t think we have time. The dungeons are pretty large and we have no idea what he’s been doing since we left. He demonstrated that he could do an influence spell before he was powered up by Matty. Speaking of- want to explain that one?”

Jack looked sheepish, “Uh....well, so the night I came in as the coal boy Murdoch captured me.” Mac’s eyes widened and Jack held up a hand to stave off questions as he continued, “The next evening he took me to the Clock Tower of Ghadi, apparently it hides a magic cave. He shoved me inside, literally, and told me to bring him an artifact. Said artifact was Matty’s lamp. She is a mage cursed with massive quantities of power, but trapped to the will of the lamp holder. Also, I found Carpet stuck under a rock. Well long story short I got stuck in the cave with the lamp, Carpet told me to rub it and Matty got me out. Then I wished to become a prince so I could court you. Oh and she was really the one that saved me when I got thrown off the cliff it took my second wish.”

Mac sat and thought about his story for a couple minutes, watching the trees rush below them. Obviously Carpet knew where they were going and Mac hoped they got back to the city soon. He turned to Jack, “Is there a limited amount of wishes?”

Jack nodded, “Yeah you only get three. I promised to use my third to free Matty. Only way to break the curse apparently. I was a selfish idiot this morning and didn’t do it right away causing all of this to happen. I was afraid without her I would never be able to keep you. It might be the biggest mistake I have ever made”

Mac shook his head, “You are an idiot. Even with you a thief I was already thinking of ways we could attempt a relationship. It will be fine. I think we can use the third wish to our advantage if we play it right. If he makes the right wish then it could all be over.”

Jack nodded, he saw where that train of thought was going and said, “I think Matty would work with us to find a loophole if we could get him to leave one, specificity is very important.”

They could now see the ocean glittering in the distance and they turned slightly to run down the coast. They were getting close. Mac took Jack’s hand and said fiercely, “We can do this. Together I know we can do this.”

They shared a determined look as they sped ever closer to the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? I try to be as realistic as possible and I hope that came across with the hypothermia, at great negative temperatures it can take less than 10 minutes to go into severe hypothermia. Jack had an extra quick recovery because of one magic Carpet ;) 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	25. I Am Going to Break the Door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I just started classes again and the holiday weekend put a break on things too. Hope yall enjoy this chapter!

It was worryingly easy to get into the palace unnoticed. Mac was sure Murdoch would have had some sort of alarm or guard set up by then, but it was possible that he didn’t yet know Mac wasn’t in the dungeon and that Jack survived the frozen mountain. They decided to start with Mac’s quarters and hope their friends were there. Their luck continued to hold when they entered Mac’s suite from the balcony to find Riley and Bozer holding hands talking with worried looks on their faces.

They both jumped up with matching looks of relief. Riley just about tackled Jack in a hug and Bozer did a slightly calmer version to Mac. Riley stepped back, glanced between the two, then asked, “What the hell is going on? There was some weird rumbling, then the door got magically sealed. I can't seem to break it.”

Mac glanced at the door, “He sealed the doors? That would explain the lack of security.”

Bozer snapped in his face, “Before you get lost in your head. Who is he?”

Mac’s gaze drifted back to the door and he bluntly said, “Murdoch.” Mac broke away from his friend to go check the door.

Bozer turned his wide-eyed gaze on Jack, “You want to elaborate on that one, please?”

Mac heard Jack’s deep breath as he started explaining things. Riley had apparently already told Bozer about the lamp because he didn't question how Matty had made Murdoch so powerful.

Mac reached out and touched the door. He felt the buzz of magic- the same that filled the cores he worked with. Testing the handle, it was indeed locked tight. Magic besides enchanting cores had mostly vanished from their kingdom. People didn’t know how to do traditional spells any more. It made Mac realize that Murdoch had more than likely grown up in one of the far-off kingdoms that still had knowledge of the old ways. Mac wondered why he targeted their kingdom. It was older and had a deep magical history, but for the last 500 years magic had been fading. Most of the mages left or became enchanters. People were working more with mechanics than magic now. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. The reason for Murdoch's attack wasn't important, what was important at that moment was stopping him. He felt along all sides of the double doors feeling for the faint tingle of power. The magic was focused around the center seam sealing the door shut. The outer edges weren't sealed. He smiled- the doors opened inward with their hinges on this side, _easy_.

Mac walked back to his friends still smiling. Jack had just finished bringing their friends up to speed. Jack glanced over at him and raised a questioning eyebrow at Macs smile. Mac waved his hand, “It's going to be really easy to get out through the door. Now we just need a plan.”

Riley looked at him, “You said yourself that I am more magically inclined than you and I have no idea how to break that spell. How did you figure it out?”

Mac shrugged, “I am not going to break the spell. I am just going to break the doors.”

Bozer chuckled, “Of course you are.”

Jack glanced around at his companions, he even looked down at Abu who was watching from the table. Mac saw Jack blink a couple times and looked at the monkey too, letting out a snort. Jack asked, “Why is my monkey wearing a vest?”

Riley innocently looked away and Bozer puffed up his chest, “I made it for him. I made other clothes, but he only liked the vest. And a hat, but that wouldn't stay on his little metallic head.” He was just about cooing to Abu near the end.

Jack looked like he was unsure, but Mac cut it, “Let Bozer have his fun. Abu made his own choice and he wanted to wear the vest.” Mac was a little surprised how quickly the monkey became another thinking part of their little group. He had to admit it was the smartest construct he had ever encountered and would likely only get smarter as it learned. Then he got an idea for how to use their monkey friend.

Mac turned to his friends, “So plan. As I see it the best course of action is to get Matty’s lamp away from Murdoch. Stop him from making more wishes. One of us could wish it all back to normal after. First, we should send out Abu as recon. Do you have the receiver, Riley?”

She nodded, “It's in my room though.”

Mac waved that away, “We can take carpet to get it. So once we know where Murdoch is, we lure him into a trap. Use Carpet to get as far away from him as quickly as possible. We probably want to get his staff away too, he is insanely powerful with it.”

Bozer held up his hand, “Since I am likely the one with the least useful skills in this situation. I guess I am the bait.”

Riley took his arm, “I am right there with you. I don't think Carpet can really fit more than two anyways.” She glanced at the other couple, “You two take Carpet, and once Abu finds Murdoch’s location you take him too. He could be useful.”

Mac nodded, “Alright let's do this. You two go get the receiver. Jack and I will take down the doors.”

Riley and Bozer nodded leaving to the balcony with Carpet in tow. Mac walked into his work shop grabbing a hammer and a stake.

Jack watched him, “So how do we destroy the door.”

Mac held up the tools, “I pop the pins out of the hinges. Honestly this is pretty basic, don't think I am doing something great.”

Jack smiled, “Everything you do is great. I didn't think it was that simple.”

Mac shook his head, “Hold the doors up in the middle. We don't want them starting to fall and torquing the other hinges. I might not be able to get the pin out then.”

From the look on Jack’s face Mac realized he probably didn't know what torque was, but he did move to the door and braced it without asking questions. Mac worked quickly to remove the six pins then moved to the center of the door next to Jack.

He took one of the ornate handles and had Jack do the same, “We need to pull straight back to unlock the hinges then we can set the door down. It's going to be heavy- these are solid wood.”

Jack made a noise, “Hey what do you think is under my clothes. I am all muscle, baby.”

Mac stared at the door to hide the blush creeping up his face at thinking what was under Jack’s clothes. He coughed to clear his throat, “Alright, let's do this.”

It took a few tugs but they got the hinges to release and started walking the door down flat. When they were both clear of it they let it drop the rest of the way. Jack held out a fist and Mac looked at it confused. Jack shook his head, “Please tell me someone has shown you nobles how to fist bump. Just hit my fist with yours. It's like a comradery thing for a job well done.”

Mac did it and Jack smiled broadly. He then swept Mac into his arms for a long kiss. They only separated when they got an uncomfortable cough from the balcony doorway.

Riley and Bozer were both watching them with smiles. Riley pointed at the door, “I see you broke the door.”

Mac nodded and pointed back towards the receiver in Riley’s hand, “And you got Abu’s receiver.”

Bozer held up Jack’s rapier, “I got your sword.”

Jack looked embarrassed, “I don’t actually know how to use that. Matty thought it would look good. And Riley knew that.” He shot Riley a look, but she was focused on the receiver’s screen. Mac saw she was trying to hide her smile. He was glad his friends could keep smiling even in this situation; he didn’t want those smiles going anywhere.

Bozer shrugged and started fastening the sword around his waist, “Guess I will keep it then. I at least have had training.”

Jack looked down at his empty hands then at Mac, “We should be armed too right?”

Mac nodded and walked to his room. He retrieved his lightning blade and strapped it on. Then he grabbed the pistol his guards insisted he keep though he refused to use it. He walked back out and handed it to Jack, asking “You know how to use this?”

Jack nodded, “Point and pull the trigger. Guns are simple like that.”

Mac didn’t like them for that reason, but they needed some defense. At that moment the gun was what they had. It didn’t look like Jack had the same reservations about them as he did, so hopefully Jack could use it.

They moved over to huddle around Riley and the screen. It was odd seeing everything so close to the ground as Abu ran down the halls. They sent him to the throne room first, but there was no sign of Murdoch or anyone else. The halls were empty which was strange for the middle of the day. It seemed whatever spell had locked his door also sealed the rest of the palace. Murdoch was hiding somewhere plotting his next move and he didn’t want interference. Abu found him not far from the throne room standing on a wide balcony that overlooked the city. He was twisting around the lamp as if contemplating his last wish. They pulled Abu back to them and everyone sat in silence thinking.

Jack was the first to talk, “At least the balcony will be easy with Carpet.”

Mac tilted his head in acknowledgement, “We do have that at least. So Riley and Bozer make him turn around and we grab the lamp and the staff. What do we do about his magic though?”

Riley asked, “Do you have more of the negative core bombs?”

Mac’s eyes lit up and he smiled, “I do. I am not sure what it will do to a spell caster, but they definitely disrupt magic fields, so it should do something.”

Mac ran into his work shop and grabbed the two orbs he had ready. He handed one to each Riley and Bozer. They all looked around for any last-minute prep and Abu ran in having finished his first task. He jumped up onto Jack's shoulder and Jack took Mac's hand.

With a confident grin Jack said, “Let's go save our kingdom.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How'd you like it? little bit of calm before the storm ;) really wanted to put a little more of Mac's amazing brain power into the story!


	26. The Train Has Wings......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really thought I would have gotten this to yall faster but here it is! The big battle! Happy reading!

Jack gripped Mac’s hand tight as they waited for the signal; floating on Carpet out of sight. Jack kept telling himself this plan would work because he had no better ideas. Riley’s voice quietly came through Abu’s mouth who was tucked into the front on Jack’s shirt, so he wouldn’t be lost, “We are in position. Ready when you are.”

Jack looked at Mac and got a nod before he said, “We’re ready.”

They heard the commotion start above them and waited for the explosion, so Carpet and Abu wouldn’t be affected. At the small explosion they darted up and forward. The core bomb had worked perfectly and Murdoch was standing there rubbing his eye that normally was covered by his monocle, but it was laying on the ground. He was waving his staff in the general direction of their friends, but nothing happened. Mac grabbed the lamp dangling from one hand and Jack grabbed the staff, only to drop it into the courtyard below when it shocked him. He glanced at it, but after he looked back up to see Murdoch's furious face turning towards them, he decided that the staff could stay there and he turned Carpet to shoot out of palace air space. Mac was looking behind them and smacked Jack, “We need to go faster. The bomb worked, but not for very long. He has his staff back already and is preparing something.”

Jack swore, he had really hoped the staff being on the ground below him would have held up Murdoch longer. Jack glanced back too and they both almost fell off as Carpet banked sharply and changed direction.

Jack swore again as he repositioned to look at whatever caused them to bank. His eyes went wide and he tapped Mac who was holding tight with his eyes closed after the near fall, “Uhm Mac…. the train has wings….”

Mac's eyes shot open and looked back at the now flying train chasing after them at rapid speed. His mouth dropped open, “How the hell is he this powerful?”

Jack could understand the shock he felt the same, “He wished to be the most powerful mage to have ever lived. Guess there were mages somewhere out in the world that actually had this much power once. That is a seriously scary thought. I think our people need to get into magic again.”

Mac was staring at the winged train, “Can you try to shoot it?”

Jack glanced back, “What is a gun going to do to a train? Besides, what if there are people inside?”

Mac shook his head, “I don’t know but I don’t have any better idea at the moment. There aren't and people right now, trust me. I watch that train going in its circle a lot. It's lunch time, it stops for an hour. No one was on it when he did this.”

Jack nodded, taking that small bit of luck in stride, and pulled out the pistol. He had told Mac he could use it with more confidence than he had. In reality he had held a pistol only a couple times and had never fired one. He took a deep breath and aimed, hoping for the best. He was surprised when the pistol kicked back and he honestly had no idea if he hit the train and it had no effect or if he missed completely.

He gave Mac a sheepish look and shrugged. Mac stared at him for a second then looked back at the train. His eyes widened and before Jack could look back Mac shoved them both flat on Carpet. The gun flew out of Jack's hand during the action and Jack thought, _Well so much for that_.

Carpet dropped and a wave of heat passed overhead. Jack glanced behind them and had to shout, “Are you kidding me?! It can breathe fire now!?”

Mac looked over at Jack, the terror clear in his blue eyes. They dipped and weaved again, Carpet thankfully being able to seemingly see in all directions at once. There was wind picking up and Jack felt that it was more than just increased speed, it was pushing them back towards the palace that was off to the side of them at that point. Carpet was obviously fighting it, but it was losing ground and slowly being pulled closer to the palace. The train was right on them and it was taking everything to stay on Carpet and not get hit.

Jack saw the large fireball coming at them from a different angle with only enough time to wrap his arms around Mac feeling Adu’s metal body press between theirs’. Carpet wrapped up almost vertical and took the fire ball. The result was that thankfully Mac and Jack were fine, but Carpet was stunned and could no longer fight the wind twisting around their bodies to try and keep them together. Mac let out a shout, “The lamp!” and Jack watched the gold object ripped away in the wind.

They were all tangled together and wind was pulling them horizontally through the air with seeming no regard for gravity. Jack flailed out a hand trying to grab anything to stop their wild flight. His hand grabbed the first thing it hit as hard as he could and felt the shock through his shoulder when they snapped to a stop bodies still being pulled backwards by the fierce wind. Without Carpet also around them Jack was sure they would have been yanked away from each other. Carpet flowed up and around his shoulder and arm strengthening his grip on the pipe he had caught allowing Jack to relax his straining muscles slightly.

Jack's arm other tightened around Mac and he screamed over the roaring winds, “What do we do now?”

Mac was shaking his head and yelled back, “I don’t know. Improvise. We need to get onto the street. Out of this wind.”

Sure enough, Jack saw that the buildings were blocking most of the wind and would be safer. Before he could even attempt to pull them down something large hit them. Carpet scattered and Jack lost his grip on the pipe and on Mac. Stunned they tumbled in the air no longer together. From what he could tell Carpet had been severely blown apart and Jack knew it took a moment to reconfigure when Carpet’s pieces got too far apart. Jack tried to reach for Mac, but he was too far. Sooner than Jack would have thought the wind cut off and they tumbled across a marble covered ground.

Jack groaned, trying to push himself up and look around- Mac was right next to him, but frozen in some odd bubble that made him look like he was underwater. Jack reached for him, but found it was hard to move. It was as if there were heavy chains wrapping around his limbs. He could still turn his head easily and found Murdoch standing before them, furious. His amused grins were gone now, his face was completely dark and cold. The lamp was in his hand again and the staff in the other. He must have rubbed it because Matty was floating over his shoulder looking extremely distressed. If she was there Jack was pretty sure he hadn’t made his third wish yet.

Jack turned his head more and found Riley, Bozer, and surprisingly King James in the same kind of bubble as Mac. He wasn't sure why Murdoch kept him somewhat freer. He guessed he would soon find out when Murdoch took a couple steps towards him and with a raise of his staff made Jack sit up tall on his knees. It felt as though somebody had a hand around his neck and though not impossible it was hard to breathe. Jack could feel the fear of their predicament slowly bubbling to the surface making his heart start beating faster. He really wished he could breath more easily in that moment.

Murdoch glared at him, “Why will you not die? You keep coming back and interfering. I will have this kingdom and Angus.”

Jack coughed, “Angus will never be yours. The kingdom will never follow you.”

Murdoch’s face grew impossibly darker, “I have the power. I am the most powerful mage that has ever lived. People will fear me and that will lead to my control.”

Jack looked at Matty and something clicked. He was surprised one of his genius friends hadn’t come up with it. He just had to get Matty on board and somehow manipulate the dangerous man before him. Still holding eye contact with her he drifted his eyes down and started tapping his wrist. She looked down and Jack could only hope she got the hint when he started talking.

Jack swallowed around the force on his throat and choked out, “But you aren't the most powerful being. All that power and there is still one stronger than you.”

Murdoch looked confused, “I am the most powerful. I wished it, so it's true.”

Jack tried to laugh to further push the Man’s hand. It came out more like a cough, but Jack responded. “You might be the most powerful mage, but the most powerful being floats behind you.” He saw Matty’s face light up when she caught on to what he was doing.

Murdoch let out a roaring scream the pressure increasing around Jack’s neck cutting off his air completely. Jack prayed to himself, _Come on say it_ , _please don’t let this be the end._ Spots were dancing in Jacks vision when the pressure suddenly lessened to how it had been before allowing Jack to suck in shallow, but lifesaving breaths. With his glare still fixed on Jack Murdoch said, “I want you to see my power” and he furiously rubbed the lamp, “I wish to be the most power being in the world.”

Jack felt relief flood through him and Matty smiled smugly, “Your wish is my command.”

Murdoch started to grow in size. His skin was taking on a deep crimson color and you could see the magic power start to condense around his hands. He started letting out a deep maniacal laugh, “Oh this power. I will be unstop-“ he cut off when a large gold band snapped around his wrist cutting off the magic. Another one followed wrapping the second wrist. “What is this? What did you do?” He was staring at Matty, but she just shrugged as Murdoch started to turn to smoke and be sucked into his own golden lamp waiting on the marble floor. When he fully disappeared all the spells around them broke. Jack fell forward, taking a few gasping breaths and his friends all dropped to the ground.

Mac crawled to Jack and embraced him, obviously fighting tears he said, “I could hear and see everything, but couldn’t move. What just happened?”

Jack looked over at Matty floating above her lamp then down at Mac, “He wanted to be the most powerful being. That of course comes with a teeny tiny living space.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last last two chapters are basically a two part epilogue, so I am going to try to get them up together and soon. Does Jack get his prince? You'll just have to wait and find out or watch Aladdin cause it has all the spoilers ;)


	27. A Captain Earl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry yall, meant to get this out sooner but I guess a part of me doesn't want my first story to come to an end. Enjoy!

Mac held onto Jack tighter. He couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of him in relief. Staring frozen at the possible love of his life being tormented would haunt him for weeks. It was over now, Jack had saved everyone and Murdoch would be locked in a lamp forever if Mac had any say in it.

Mac looked at Matty and mouthed “Thank you.” She nodded at him then looked around. Mac glanced around with her. The palace was covered in debris from the wind, there was still a flying train above the city, Carpet lay in pieces and for some reason wasn't coming back together with Abu sadly poking a piece of his friend, and his father still looked a decade older and very weak from how he was being helped to his feet by Riley and Bozer. Murdoch had really done a number of things.

Matty took one more look and said, “I guess I should fix all of this.”

Jack looked confused, “Without a wish?”

Matty winked at them, “It's different when it’s for a lot of people and not just one.”

She rose higher into the air holding her hands up and things started going back where they belonged. The King stood straighter as his age decreased to normal and his crown and clothes returned to their rightful place. Carpet zipped back together, swarming around Abu. The flying train settled onto the tracks with its wings vanishing and guards started popping back into their places. Sam and Desi landed near them and Mac instantly jumped up to embrace them. He couldn’t express how happy he was that they were there and they hadn't been harmed. He turned and saw Jack walk up to Matty and pick up the lamp. She drifted down so they were eye level.

Mac had to smile as he watched them interact. Matty popped a scroll into existence, “So our whole “make you a prince” didn’t work out, but I have the kingdom's laws right here and you can wish for the law of royalty marrying royalty to disappear right now. You got one more wish we can still make this work.”

Jack smiled fondly, “You can do that?”

Matty put her hands on her hips, “Of course I can. Genie remember.”

Jack still smiling glanced over and Mac, “Alright Matty.” Mac could tell she was ready to make Jack’s wish a reality. Jack moved his gaze over to the King for a moment who to Mac’s surprise gave him a nod. Jack rubbed the lamp and said, “Matty, I wish you were free.”

Matty didn’t realize what was said at first as she raised her hand, “Alright let's- wait what?” she was staring at Jack as her cuffs snapped off. She started drifting to the ground, her smoke tail becoming legs as she touched down. She stared at her arms as the blue faded, leaving behind her natural skin tone.

Matty was still staring at her arms when Jack crouched down and embraced her. After a moment he pulled back and said seriously, “I made a promise and I don’t break my promises.”

Matty laughed and reached around Jack to hug him again, “Thank you Jack. It feels so good to be free.”

Mac went over and gave her a hug too, “Thank you Matty, for offering to change this for us, but I think we need to do this on our own the right way.” Mac glanced over at his father who was standing there contemplating the situation.

King James stepped forward, “You have done many great deeds this day, Jack Dalton,” He turned to where Riley was standing, “and you, miss….?”

“Riley Davis” she offered.

The king nodded, “You both stepped up and helped save this nation from a powerful enemy. I can’t condone pretending to be something you aren’t to get what you want,” he looked at Jack, “but I can understand why and your true heart in the end has been revealed. I would like to bestow a gift on you both. The titles of Earl and Countess. We will have to do something official later, but I am making you nobility. I hope you two can help bring some humanity and kind hearts back into our nobles.” Jack and Riley both looked stunned and Riley took a moment to lean over and kiss Bozer. He smiled at her in return.

Mac took a step forward and held Jack arm tightly, “Father it is my wish to still court this man. Will you accept an earl as king?”

Mac could see the turmoil on his father's face, “Son, I want you to be happy, but-“

Mac really needed to teach Jack the way of things as he cut off the king, “What about a captain earl? If that’s even a thing” he muttered the last bit mostly to Mac.

King James pondered this, “A captain earl?”

Jack nodded enthusiastically, “It has been my dream since I was a child to sail the skies. I would ask of you that as part of my gift you allow me to go to flight school and train with your military. That way I can prove myself to you and to the people. I want to be here at Mac’s side and I will do anything to make that happen.”

The king nodded, “I think that will be acceptable. When you graduate I think that will be ample time to prove yourself and for a reasonable courtship. I am king after all, why hold on to old fashioned traditions.”

Mac whirled on Jack and kissed him with everything he had. He didn’t care that his family or the guards were all watching. Let the rumors spread, he couldn’t care less. He pulled back beaming and all his family came and congratulated them. Eventually things settled and people were starting to drift away when Mac nearly kicked over the lamp that now contained Murdoch the genie. He picked it up so everyone can see, “What do we do with this?”

Everyone exchanged looks, but Matty held out her hand, “Give it here. A thousand years under the Tower of Ghadi should cool him off.” Mac handed it over to her.

To everyone’s surprise she threw it off the balcony and it rocketed towards the desert and the tower. She turned back to all the surprised stares and crossed her arms. She asked, “What?”

Jack found his tongue first, “You just did magic. Like big magic.”

Matty rolled her eyes, “I told you I was a mage before getting trapped in that lamp.” She wiggled her fingers, “I still got powers.”

Everyone fell into smiles and laughter. It really was the start of a new kingdom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Give me just a moment and the epilogue will be up soon. Can't believe its complete!


	28. Epilogue: Wedding Jitters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are at the end can't believe I actually finished something. Happy reading!

Mac stared at himself in the mirror as Bozer adjusted the white formal suit one more time. Mac kept tapping his fingers on his leg, he glanced at his friend’s reflection and asked, “Were you this nervous before your wedding?”

Bozer raised an eyebrow, “You were there. You threatened to tie me to a chair and wheel me out if I didn’t stop pacing. Yes I was terrified. It's going to be fine. You and Jack love each other to death and have courted for two years. It's just a ceremony to make it official.”

Mac gave a shaky breath, “Right just a big ceremony. Everything will be fine.” There was a knock on the door and Riley popped her head in, “Are we ready for the first look?”

Bozer smiled and nodded to his wife, “Bring him in. Eyes closed, Mac.”

Mac closed his eyes, his body practically vibrating with anticipation. It had been two years since that fateful week. Jack had graduated from flight school about a month before and their marriage was officially sanctioned by the King.

After a moment Riley said, “Alright boys open your eyes.”

There he was wearing the formal dark blue dress designating him as a flight captain. A few extra buttons and metals showed off that he was also an earl. He now knew how to use the ceremonial sword on his hip and he wore it with so much pride. His hair was shorter now in a standard military cut with just a bit of his rebellious side showing in a strip of longer hair at the top, but he was just as handsome as ever. Mac felt his eyes get watery as he looked at Jack. Jack was no better and he shakily said, “Look at us blubbering idiots, god you look so beautiful.”

Mac felt the now familiar flush rise on his cheeks. Jack’s ability to fluster him never stopped even after two years of being together. Mac leaned forward and gave Jack a quick kiss. He said, “This is why we do a first look, so we can be blubbering idiots away from the court.” Mac gave him another peck, “You also look as handsome as ever. I love a man in uniform.”

There was another knock on the door and Matty came in uninvited with Sam and Desi behind her. After a few months living in the palace and working with the guard on real magic, the king had given the title of grand vizier to her. She wore it well; being over a thousand years old she had been through a lot and had a lot of experience and wisdom to share. Desi and Sam now wore matching pins on their uniforms designating them as the magical elite guard. They along with Riley were Matty’s best students, all three women excelling in their studies more than any other student.

Matty clapped, “Come one people. There is a kingdom waiting out there. Let's get to it.”

She winked at the couple as she turned to walk out the door. Mac and Jack shared one more fond look before following out the door hand in hand ready to face the masses and introduce the new Prince to the kingdom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end?   
> At least for this story. I actually have 2 more ideas that will continue in this universe, one actually takes place before the epilogue while Jack is still is school and the other takes place after (king of theives maybe?) . I haven't started either of these ones though. I do have another started in the cannon universe involving an OC teenager, so that may be coming first. (Also have zelda and rotg fics in the works if people are into as many random fandoms as I am) I am bad at writing anything remotely short, so it might take me a while, since I am a bit swamped with school and work, but at least this one is done! Thank you so much to my beta even if I had to poke you a lot, you got it done. Thank you to everyone that has read, given kudos and/or comments. It has meant so much to me to see that people actually do enjoy what I write. Hopefully with all your support I will actually find the time to write more and give yall something more to read.

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think? I would love any and all comments. If you think there are missing tags or wrong tags at any point please let me know. The next chapter will be up momentarily then there will be a wait for more. Thanks again for reading!


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